^ 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

GIFT  OF 


Received 


Accession  No.   y  Q  44 3  (o>    Class  No.  ?, 


GENESIS   OF  WORLDS. 


GENESIS  OF  WORLDS 


BY 


J.  H.  HOBART  BENNETT. 


SPRINGFIELD,  ILL.: 

H.  W.  BOKKEB.  PBINTEB,  BTNDEB  AND  STEBEOTTPEB. 
1900. 


Copyrighted.     All  Rights  Reserved. 


- 


f 


PREFACE. 


Explaining  the  formation  of  the  sun  and 
planets  from  a  great  nebula,  has  been  said  to 
be  "beginning  in  the  middle  of  the  process." 
If  that  is  true,  in  the  absence  of  theories, 
of  which  the  writer  has  seen  none  in  the  least 
comprehensive,  no  apology  is  required  for  sug- 
gesting means  by  which  the  commencement  of 
the  process  may  be  explained.  A  beginning 
should  be  made.  — 

The  intelligence  of  the  age  will  justify  an 
earnest  effort  to  unfold  the  mysteries  in 
which  the  genesis  of  the  solar  system  is 
involved.  Several  efforts  may  be  requisite  to 
achieve  a  satisfactory  result.  The  theory 
now  in  vogue  in  regard  to  the  motions  of  the 
sun,  the  planets,  and  their  satellites,  is  the  sixth 
one  that  has  been  formed  in  succession — all 
in  the  line  of  progress.  We  cannot  hope  to 


vi  Preface. 

unravel  all  the  mysteries  on  the  various  sub- 
jects to  which  this  treatise  refers,  but  it  is  to 
be  desired  that  the  suggestions,  rendered  prob- 
able by  agreement  with  analogies  and  observed 
conditions,  will  receive  the  attention  due  to 
their  intrinsic  merits.  It  is  not  to  be  expected 
nor  even  desired  that  all  the  propositions  ad- 
vanced will  escape  antagonism.  Desirable  inves- 
tigation is  stimulated  and  made  persistent  by 
diversities  of  opinions.  The  criticism  to  be  most 
feared  is  that  of  silence. 

Premature  conclusions  may  be  reached  with 
very  imperfect  comprehension  of  a  proposition 
relating  to  a  mystery,  but  just  and  worthy 
criticisms  can  be  expected  only  of  those  that 
can,  as  it  were,  rise  above  the  phenomena  in- 
volved in  a  proposition,  and  view  it  as  enacted 
or  occurring  within  the  limits  of  observation. 
The  apparently  insurmountable  aspect  of  a  mys- 
tery must  be  overcome,  that  it  may  be  brought 
into  subjection  to  the  power  of  mind. 

The  avenues  to  scientific  favor  open  slowly  to- 
discoveries  in  mysteries.  Sir  Charles  Lyell 
wrote  : 

"We   are   sometimes   tempted   to   ask    whether 


Preface.  vn 

the  time  will  ever  come,  when  science  shall 
have  attained  such  an  ascendency  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  millions,  that  it  will  be  possible  to 
welcome  new  truths,  instead  of  always  looking 
upon  them  with  fear  and  disquiet ;  and  to  hail 
every  important  victory  gained  over  error,  in- 
stead of  resisting  new  discoveries  long  after  the 
evidence  in  their  favor  is  conclusive." 

Few  have  the  courage  to  assume  the  respon- 
sibility of  approving  new  discoveries  till  they 
have  the  sanction  of  popular  opinion.  The  writer 
must  expect,  without  complaint,  the  history  of 
such  delays  to  repeat  itself. 

Fifty  years  after  Copernicus  died,  his  great 
discovery  was  treated  with  contempt  by  the 
great  philosopher  Lord  Bacon.  The  principles 
of  Newton's  discoveries  were  nearly  as  tardily 
admitted  into  the  British  universities.  Doubtless 
some  important  discoveries  are  withheld  from 
publication  in  consequence  of  such  tardiness. 

If  a  tone  of  positive  assertion  appears  to  be 
unwarrantably  assumed  in  this  treatise,  in  treat- 
ing of  hidden  mysteries,  it  may  be  for  brevity 
and  perspicuity  :  The  constant  use  of  "  may  be" 
with  so  much  that  is  speculative  becomes  mo- 
notonous. 


viii  Preface. 

Any  want  of  deferential  regard  for  authors 
whose  theories  are  controverted,  that  may  ap- 
pear, is  only  apparent.  The  writer  acknowledges 
a  lively  sense  of  obligation  to  all  of  them,— 
not  least  among  them  to  those  whose  works  are 
criticised. 

The  branches  of  science,  or  parts  of  them, 
considered  in  this  treatise,  may  be  said  to  be  in 
their  infancy.  They  relate  to  realms  not  yet 
thoroughly  explored. 

The  following,  from  Sir  David  Brewster's 
< 'Life  of  Kepler,"  may  be  found  very  apt  and 
applicable. 

"  In  the  infancy  of  a  science  there  is  no 
speculation  so  absurd  as  not  to  merit  examina- 
tion. The  most  remote  and  fanciful  explana- 
tions of  facts  have  often  been  found  the  true 
ones,  and  opinions  which  have  in  one  century 
been  objects  of  ridicule,  have  in  the  next  been 
admitted  among  tne  elements  of  our  knowledge. 
The  physical  world,  teems  with  wonders,  and 
the  various  forms  of  matter  exhibit  to  us  prop- 
erties and  relations  far  more  extraordinary  than 
the  wildest  fancy  could  have  conceived.  Human 
reason  stands  appalled  before  the  magnificent 
display  of  creative  power,  and  they  who  have 


Preface.  ix 

drunk  deepest  of  its  wisdom  will  be  the  least 
disposed  to  limit  the  excursions  of  physical 
speculation. ' ' 

It  was  desirable  to  have  this  work  submitted 
to  competent  critics  for  correction  and  pruning, 
but  it  seemed,  after  a  few  fruitless  attempts, 
that  the  more  important  matters  being  mainly 
new  to  them,  they  preferred  not  to  assume  the 
responsibility  of  forming  and  expressing  their 
opinions  on  the  merits  or  correctness  of  the 
work.  Hence  came  the  necessity  of  submitting 
it  to  a  world  of  critics  by  publication. 


UNIVERSITY 
PALIFO* 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
NEBULAR  HYPOTHESIS.    THE  SUN. 

PAGE 

The  great  nebula 3 

Change  of  form  of  substances  -  ....  3 

^District  in  space  -  5 

Growth  of  the  nebula  -  6,  32 

Transformation  of  matter 7 

Source  of  heat -  -  8 

Origin  of  rotary  motion -  -  9 

Motion  accelerated -  -  11 

Uniformity  of  position  of  planetary  planes  -  -  -  12 
Mosaic  days  explained  -  -  -  -  13 

Sources  of  sun's  energy  -  .  * 15 

Impact  theory  stated,  analyzed,  and  found  erratic  -  16-19 

JSb  dark  globes  flying  at  random  -  -  '-  -  :  20 
The  great  nebula  divides  into  planetary  portions  21-25,  29 
Heating  and  cooling  of  globes  -  :--  -  -'  25-27,30 
Meteoric  supplies  for  the  sun  -  -  -  r  -  26 
Form  of  solar  system  district  in  space  -  .-  -  -  31-34 
Meteoric  supplies  from  the  polar  regions  -  -  -  35-3T 

Size  and  velocity  of  aerolites 38 

Prominences  and  sun-spots  -  ...  40-46- 

Meteoric  supplies  maintain  sun's  heat  -  -  -  48-54 
Prospecting  for  discoveries  -  55-59 

The  sun  nebulous  in  its  infancy  ....  61-63- 
Planets  receive  but  little  meteoric  matter  -  -  64 

^Growth  of  the  very  small  sun  to  its  recent  culmination  65-70 
Destiny  of  the  sun  and  the  planets  ...  70 


XII 


Contents. 


Their  orii 


CHAPTEE  II. 
COMETS. 


How  comets  are  formed 
Length  of  journey  of  a  comet 
Comets  not  star  visitors       -       -     .  - 
First  approach  to  the  sun 
Dissolution  of  comets      -       -       -       - 
Kepulsion  inherent  in  all  cometic  matter 
Sun's^  corona.    Streams  of  meteoroids 
Light  modified  in  comets 
Many  comets  from  polar  regions 
Supplies  for  the  sun  from  polar  regions 
S:>'ar  system  district,  why  elongated 
Cometic  matter  indestructible 
Meteoroids  incombustible 
Practical  utility  of  cometic  matter 
Aerolites  and  comets  from  same  regions 
Various  cometic  properties 
Meteoroids  in  scattered  orbits 
Laws  created 
A  complication  of  laws       - 

CHAPTER  III. 
ZODIACAL  LIGHT. 

Nebelous  ring  around  the  sun      %£&   - 
A  brilliant  meteor      -       -       -•       -       '•-'. 
MeteorsJieated  in  ring  nebula 
Errors  of  heatingjdiscussed 
A  list  of  propositions       -       -•      -.'•••- 
Cause  of  glacial  epoch  suggested       -   I  ••'• 
Belated  propositions"^  - 
Benefits  of  the  ring  nebula 


PAGE 

71 

72-76 
77 

-  78 
79-85 
86-88 

89 

-  91 
91-93 
95-97 

98 
99 
101 
103 
105 
107 
109 
111 
112 
115 
116 


-   119 

-  121 

123 

125 

127-128 
129 
131 
133 


Contents.  xni 


CHAPTER  IV. 
TRANSMUTATION  OF  THE  EARTH'S  CRUST. 

PAGE 

Moving  spirit  in  the  work       -                                    ;   -  137 

Heat  of  the  molten  globe  138 

Wa  er  held  alofFby  great  heat       -               -       -/      -  13& 

Experience  wTth  granite  boulder  141 

With  decrease  of  heat  water  begins  to  fall         -  • .".  •..  142 

Rending  of  the  earth's  crust                .  -       -       •       -  143 

Ocean  volumejleluge  inevitable  145 

Ocean-laden  clouds  emptied  upon  the  globe  147 

Supposed  process  of  re  iding  the  rocky  crust        -.      .-..  149 

Thickness  of  the  broken  crust  150 

Heat  of  the  crust  during  the  rending  151 

Rending  of  the  crust  inevitable    .-       -..-•-        -  152 

Broken  crust  ground  i.y  steam  power  153 
Generally  accepted  hypothesis  examined        -              154-157 

Geological  history  to  date  from  the  beginning  158 

Advantage  of  working  on  a  true  basis       -       -        -  159 

Effect  of  slow  erosion  on  earth's  surface  160 

Fertility  follows  the  renovating  process       -    .    -    "   -.  161 

Sand  abundant  after  the  rending       -  162 

Assorting  minerals           -        -       -'      -       -        -        -  165 

Metals  extracted  and  stored        -       -       *       -       -  167 

Parallel  storing  of  metals  and  honey           -    •  •-.      -  169 

Controlling  influence  of  the  use  of  metals       -    I  -  170 

"Stone  age'' alternative       -       -  ,    •       ~      ••       •  i71 

First  and  second  periods  of  time  noted       -     :  -.      -  172 

Occurrences  of  second  and  third  periods       r,"   ..-       -  175 

The  two  systems  of  stratification        -       -       ,?       -  177 

Some  results  of  transmutation  process  179 

Transmutation  theory  summarized       ...        -  181 

Geologists  relieved  of  difficulties       -  182 

Prejudice  to  be  overcome       -                       -       -       -  183 

Honor  to  whom  honor  is  due    - 184 


xiv  Contents. 


CHAPTER  Y. 
ELEVATIONS.    VOLCANOES. 

PAGE 

Earth_cooling  185 

Investigating  stratifications                          -       -  -     187 

All  stratifications  once  parallel  189 

Contrast  between  two  systems  in  cooling           -  -       191 

Sun's  service  econ^mmefrTnillions  of  years    -       -  -    192 

Fissures.    Porous  crust  accelerates  cooling       -  191 

Interval  between  two  systems  emphasized  195 

Vast  intervals  of  time       -  197 

Fluctuations  in  temperature  199 

Vegetable  and  animal  life       -  201 

No  organic  life  in  parallel  strata       -  204 

Investigation  of  errors 205 

Some  studious  speculations       -  207 

Formation  of  power  rooms,  or  caverns  208 

Elevations,  volcanoes,  and  earthquakes  209 

Location  ^Tcavern  floor                        -       -;      -  210,255 

Failure  of  former  hypothesis  211-215 

Comparison  with  the  planet  Mars       -  217 

Thickness  of  the  earth's  crust  in  question    -       -  219,  253 

Ratio  of  heinTin  earth's_crust  and  center  -        221 

Thickness  of  crust  esti_maj£d  223 

Crust  wrenching  beneficial  .225 

Earth's  form  unchangable 227 

Study  of  cavern  forms  and  extensions       ...         229 

Elevations  made  permanent    -       -       -  •     -       -  -    233 

Study  of  the  depth  to  power  caverns  237 

Remarkable  volcanic  eruptions       -  -    239 

Dust  eruptions       -       -  241-244 

Continuity  of  power  caverns   -  -    247 

Peak  of  Timor,  how  blown  off 250 

Variable  thickness  of  the  earth's  crust       -       -  -      253 

Farther  study  ^TTocation  of  caverns       ...  255 
Discoveries. encounter  prejudice          -       ...       259 

Responsibilities  of  masters  of  science     -  261 


Contents.  xv 


CHAPTER  VI. 
GENERATIONS  OF  STARS. 

PAGE 

Inferences  by  analogies         -       -       -       -       -       -  265 

Peopled  planets  attend  the  stars      -       -       .        -       -  267 

Duration  of  stars  269 

Sun  and  earth  to  become  dead  worlds    -       -       -       -  270 

A  generation  of  stars    -. 271 

What  becomes  of  dead  worlds  ? 272 

Generations  of  stars  in  succession      ...       -  273 

A  study  of  generations 275 

Terms  of  existence  of  stars  277 

Complexions  of  stars -  278 

Exploration  of  stardom       -  281 

CHAPTER  VII. 
DISSOLUTION  OF  WORLDS. 

Accumulation  of  dead  worlds      -       -       -       -       -  283 

Natural  process  of  dissolution 284 

Dissolution  of  inorganic  forms 285 

Repulsion  and  gravitation  cooperate      -       -       -       -  287 

Some  inscrutable  mysteries  288 

An  ignoble  pedigree  claimed  -      '-   -   ?     -  -       -       -  289 

Stability  in  the  universe     -     •. '•  -""     -     -'*  '    '"  -    "  29° 

Orderly  evolution  of  worlds          -       -       -       -       -  292 
Discussion  of  dispersion  of  the  substance  of  worlds    -  294 

Process  of  collisions  analyzed 295 

Matter  not  dispersed  by  collisions          -       -       -       -  297 

Will  there  be  catastrophes  or  order  ?  299 

Unification  of  a  binary  star 300 

Dark  stars  and  suns  301 

Orderly  evolution  of  worlds 302 

Question    of  refitting  worlds 304 

Apparent  infinities 306 


xvi  Contents. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
INTELLIGENCES.    THEIR  INTERESTS  AND  DESTINIES. 

PAGE 

Mighty  procession  of  generations       -  -       309 

Duration  and  occupancy   of  worlds  compared    -        -     311 

A  free  offer  313 

Authority  in  the  future  state  315 

Future  state  inquiries  317 

Progress  toward  the  perfect  life  329 

Theory  of  a  future  perfect  life  320 

Perfect  rule  only  by  infinite  power  321 

An  Infinite  Ruler  must  control     -  -   223 

Responsibilities  of  science  325 

Presumptuous  hypothesis  discussed  327 

The  worst  enemy  of  self  329 

One  best  planet  in  a  system  331 

Supreme  value  of  spiritual  creations  333 

Boundless  felicities  335 

Feast  of  mind  and  flow  of  soul  -  337 

Some  false  impressions  339 

Enjoyment  in  the  perfect  life  -  341 

School  of  preparation     -       -  343 

Fruits  of  acceptance  and  renewal  -  345 


CHAPTER  1. 


NEBULAR  HYPOTHESIS — THE  SUN. 

"Can  man  conceive  beyond  what  God  can  do? 

Nothing  but  quite  impossible  is  hard, 
He  summons  into  being  with  like  ease 

A  whole  creation  and  a  single  grain." 

Science  has  clearly  revealed  to  us  in  these 
latter  days,  through  the  testimony  of  the  rocks, 
that  the  earth  was  in  process  of  preparation  for 
the  abode  of  man  many  millions  of  years. 
Since  the  beginning  of  vegetable  and  animal 
life,  the  history  seems  to  be  recorded  there  of 
at  least  sixteen  millions  of  years,  according  to 
one  very  cautious  investigator;  and  various  esti- 
mates have  been  made  by  others,  even  to  more 
than  ten  times  as  long.  Any  of  those  estimates 
of  time,  so  inconceivably  immense,  would  be 
more  than  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  this 


2  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

treatise.  However,  as  only  changes  were  noted 
of  which  the  rocks  and  other  witnesses  give 
evidence;  and  as,  doubtless,  there  were  long  in- 
tervals of  time  in  which  there  was  no  record 
because  the  work  done  in  them  was  not  of  a 
character  to  leave  evidence  of  it;  therefore  we 
might  reasonably  allow  an  intermediate  sum  of 
forty  millions  of  years  for  our  purpose.  The 
time  may  have  been  twice  as  long.  Being 
awakened  to  the  necessity  of  considering  those 
inconceivable  eras,  and  having  accepted  what  we 
are  forced  to  believe  of  their  long  continuance, 
we  are  prepared  to  consent  to  a  belief  in  equally 
long  intervals  of  time  at  an  earlier  date,  even 
from  the  creation  of  the  earth  to  the  advent  of 
organic  life  upon  it. 

Having  meagre  records  of  those  earlier  Ijimes, 
we  may  need  to  explore  the  darkness  of  their 
mysteries.  We  may  have  to  picture  in  fancy 
the  events  of  the  eras,  and  then  to  seek  for 
evidence  of  the  accuracy  of  the  representation. 
The  discovery,  by  aid  of  the  telescope,  of  neb- 
ulous stars  in  various  stages  of  advancement, 
supposed  to  be  preparatory  to  the  formation  of 
worlds,  or  systems  of  worlds,  suggests  the  prob- 


The  Great  Nebula.  3 

ability  that  our  solar  system  was  once  in  like 
condition  of  preparation — was  once  a  vast  nebula 
from  which  our  sun  and  circling  planets  were 
evolved. 

Enquiring  minds  have  a  propensity  for  tracing 
things  to  a  first  cause,  and  would  ask  from 
whence  came  the  great  nebula.  It  could  not  have 
sprung  into  existence  already  formed.  It  had  an 
origin  which  is  worthy  of  a  most  careful  inves- 
tigation, for  it  is  one  of  a  class  that  is  repre- 
sented by  thousands  of  similar  bodies  in  the 
heavens.  May  not  a  conjecture  of  its  antecedents 
be  properly  presented  here?  It  is  that  when  the 
great  Creator  would  form  a  new  system  of  worlds, 
having  allotted  a  district  of  suitable  form  and 
dimensions  for  the  purpose,  He  changes  the  primor- 
dial matter  in  it  from  a  gaseous  condition,  in  which 
it  had  been  under  the  law  of  repulsion,  into  cos- 
mical  dust,  by  which  slight  change  it  became 
subject  to  the  law  of  gravitation.  Criticisms  on 
the  change  of  the  form  of  the  substance  may 
properly  be  withheld  till  after  reading  the  seventh 
chapter,  on  the  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

For  brevity  and  convenience,  the  terms  pri- 
mordial matter,  and  cosmical  dust,  may  thus  be 


Xebular  Hypothesis. 

applied  to  distinguish  between  two  different  forms 
of  the  same  substance.  Is  it  presumptuous  to 
attempt  to  delineate  the  course  of  nature  in 
the  control  of  matter  for  the  creation  of  worlds, 
a  process  so  inextricably  involved  in  mystery? 
It  is  proposed  to  bring  the  phenomena  in  the 
case  into  comparison  with  analogous  mattersy 
and  so  subject  the  mysteries  to  close  scrutiny 
that  they  may,  in  a  measure  be  overcome, 
and  brought  into  subjection  to  the  power  of 
mind.  There  is  a  necessity  for  it.  Commenc- 
ing with  the  nebular  hypothesis  in  the  middle 
of  the  process,  leaves  the  beginning  a  blank  which 
should  be  filled.  Some  of  the  occurrences  of  the 
beginning  are  essential  to  the  very  existence  of 
the  members  of  the  middle.  As  well  may  a  castle 
be  built  on  the  sand  without  foundation,  as  a  theory 
for  the  construction  of  the  solar  system  without 
accounting  for  the  heat  found  in  it — a  most  essen- 
tial factor  in  the  process.  . 

For   an   account  of   the  beginning,  the  first  es- 

O  O' 

sential  thing  to  be  noted  is  the  district  in  space 
pertaining  to  the  solar  system,  from  which  all 
the  substance  of  it  is  gathered. 


District  in  Space.  5 

We  know  of  a  neighboring  star  which,  we 
have  reason  to  believe,,  occupies  a  contiguous 
district,  between  which  and  our  own  there  must 
be  a  limit  of  space  up  to  which  each  world  con- 
trols the  gravitating  matter  around  it.  We  are 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  stars  and  systems  be- 
tween which  and  ours  are  like  boundaries,  enclosing 
&  district  in  space  in  which  the  solar  system  is 
comprised — a  district,  a  recognition  of  which  is 
essential  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  phenomenal 
occurrences  to  which  our  attention  is  directed. 

A  nebula  is  found  in  the  district,  of  immense  size, 
resembling,  in  appearance,  a  luminous  cloud  of  the 
atmosphere  which  is  known  to  be  a  gathering  of 
the  impalpable  atoms  of  moisture  in  the  air.  That 
nebula  surely  had  an  origin.  It  would  be  unsci- 
entific to  say  it  was  either  created  or  evolved  in 
that  form  out  of  nothing.  The  most  reasonable 
process  of  its  formation  conceivable  is  that  by 
which  the  cloud  of  moisture  that  floats  in  the  sky  is 
formed.  From  the  analogy  we  may  presume, 
therefore,  that  the  nebula  was  a  gathering  of  the 
impalpable  atoms  which  have  been  termed  the 
cosmical  dust,  from  the  regions  of  space  within  the 
the  district.  As  moisture  of  the  air  gathers  into 


6  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

clouds,  so  atoms  of  cosmical  dust  unite  throughout 
the  district,  forming  minute  nebulae,  the  union  of 
which  forms  others  larger,  all  tending  to  one  point, 
the  center  of  the  district.  At  that  point  there  is 
forming  a  constantly  increasing  body,  beginning 
with  the  clustering  of  those  minute  nebulae  of  the 
nearer  regions,  and  then  also  those  from  farther 
and  farther  away,  till  myriads  were  gathering  in 
from  all  parts  of  the  district,  the  largest  of  which, 
coming  from  the  wide  regions  farthest  out,  and 
being  long  on  the  way,  become  solidified  aerolites, 
such  as  occasionally  fall  now  upon  the  earth,  being 
formed  in  the  same  manner,  and  coming  from  the 
same  distant  regions.  The  central  mass,  having 
attained  an  immense  size,  attracts  them  powerfully, 
and  they  come  charged  with  energy  that,  being 
converted  into  heat  by  forceful  impact,  gradually 
and  continually  raise  the  temperature  of  the  great 
nebula. 

It  is  not  essential  that  all  shall  accede  to 
the  assumption  that  the  Creator  had  changed  the 
form  of  the  gaseou^primordial  matter  to  the  more 
attractable  and  condensable  cosmical  dust.  Those 
that  recognize  the  necessity  of  an  Almighty  Up- 
holder of  the  universe  of  worlds  will  not  deny  His 


Transformation  of  Matter.  7 

agency  in  ordering  and  directing  the  construction 
of  the  solar  system.  Whatever  others  may  deny 
or  assume  in  regard  to  the  transformation  of  the 
primordial  matter,  they  must  accede  to  the  effect  of 
gravitation  upon  matter  In  the  formation  of  the 
great  nebula.  If  all  can  agree  thus  far,  leaving  to 
a  future  convenience  and  determination  the  mystery 
of  the  change  of  matter  in  preparation  for  being 
assembled  in  the  nebula,  progress  will  have  been 
made  from  the  half  way  station  in  the  middle  of 
the  process  back  nearly  to  the  beginning — possibly 
as  near  as  men  can  ever  get  in  concurrence  of 
opinion.  But  there  may  be  no  difficulty  in  agree- 
ment from  the  very  beginning.  Matter  must  have 
existed  in  space,  or  it  must  have  been  created. 
Those  who  ascribe  to  matter  and  discern  in  it  "the 
promise'and  potency  of  all  terrestrial  life,"*  will 
have  no  difficulty  in  admitting  the  transformation 
of  matter,  if  necessary,  from  a  gaseous  to  a  con- 
densable form  by  its  inherent  power.  Thus  all  may 
acknowledge  the  transformation,  however  they  may 
differ  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  is  effected. 
Believers  in  a  Creator  of  all  things  acknowledge 
*Tyndall. 


8  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

His  all-controlling  will  in  every  expedient  trans- 
formation. 

Thus  retrogressing  to  the  beginning  of  the  pro- 
cess, step  by  step,  and  carefully  analyzing  the 
acceptance  of  the  proposition  to  recognize  the 
entire  process  from  the  beginning  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  solar  system,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
general  readers  will  find  the  apparent  inaccessibility 
of  the  mystery  overcome. 

The  hypothesis  of  the  existence  of  a  gigan- 
tic nebula  from  which  the  globes  of  the  solar 
system  were  formed,  has  met  with  general  ap- 
proval. But  the  hypothesis  fails  to  account 
for  great  heat  found  in  the  globes,  which 
would  probably  have  been  produced  by 
some  earlier  process  or  provision.  Prominent 
astronomers  have  averred  the  insufficiency;  and  also 
that  the  effect  of  gravitation  in  the  condensation  of 
the  nebula  would  not  account  for  it.  They  have 
suggested  that  the  supply  may  have  resulted  from 
the  collision  of  worlds. 

A  process  more  in  accordance  with  the  usual 
quiet  course  of  nature  in  analogous  matters  may 
be  discovered  in  the  earlier  progress  of  the  forma- 
tion of  the  nebula.  The  impact  in  it  during  its 


Origin  of  Rotary  Motion.  9 

formation,  of  a  constant  inflow  of  aerolites  and 
nebulous  bodies  formed  by  the  gathering  of  cos- 
mical  dust  from  the  regions  of  space,  as  already 
stated,  accounts  for  the  heat  pervading  the  vast 
extent  of  the  nebula.  That  the  prodigious  heat  of 
the  sun  and  the  molten  bodies  of*  the  planets  and 
their  satellites  should  all  have  been  comprised  in 
the  comparatively  attenuated  matter  of  the  nebula 
will  not  occasion  surprise  when  it  is  remembered 
that  the  nebula  was  so  much  larger  than  all  of  them 
that  no  comprehensible  figures  will  express  their 
proportions.  Contraction  of  its  volume  condensed 
the  heat  to  a  fiery  intensity  in  the  sun  and  all  the 
smaller  bodies. 

The  difficulty  of  explaining  the  source  of  the 
rotary  motion  of  the  globes  of  the  solar  system 
satisfactorily  has  been  deemed  nearly  insur- 
mountable. 

The  difficulty  may  be  due  to  seeking  for  the 
source  within  the  space  immediately  around 
or  within  the  solar  system  wherein  no 
previous  motion  can  be  discerned.  It  may  be 
found,  and  the  difficulty  overcome  by  making  a 
more  extended  search.  The  space  allotted  for 
the  new  system  has  limits,  though  somewhat 


10  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

indefinite,  and  is  contiguous  to,  and  surrounded 
by,  other  similar  districts  that  have  rotary  mo- 
tion. Through  contact  with  them  a  rotary  mo- 
tion is  acquired  by  the  new  district,  of  which 
all  matter  within  it  partakes.  A  district  in  the 
midst  of  others  having  rotary  motion  must 
partake  of  it.  Every  district,  or  allotted  space 
contributing  to  the  formation  and  maintenance 
of  a  star  is  supposed  to  be  surrounded  by  oth- 
ers, or  is  contiguous  to  at  least  one  other. 
Therefore  no  district,  or  space  having  weight 
of  matter,  either  embodied  in  globes,  or 
diffused  in  impalpable  form,  is  without  motion. 
Will  it  be  deemed  incredible  that  a  district 
in  space  should  have  rotary  motion?  It  is  pre- 
sumable that  every  such  district  that  is  to  be 
allotted  to  the  formation  of  a  system  of  worlds 
will  have  weight,  as  in  the  instance  of  our  own, 
which  contained  all  the  primordial  matter  of 
which  the  worlds  of  the  solar  system  were  made, 
and  still  much  remains  diffused;  it  therefore 
had  weight,  an  unvarying  amount,  whether  in 
form  of  worlds  or  disseminated  throughout  the 
district.  The  motion  of  the  central  mass,  par- 
taking of  that  of  the  district  was  slow. 


Motion  Accelerated.  11 

Some  philosopher  has  divined  a  process  by 
which  it  may  have  been  accelerated.  He  sup- 
posed that  all  meteoric  accretions  to  the  great 
nebula,  partaking  of  the  rotary  motion  of  the 
outer  portions  of  its  district,  are  impelled  for- 
ward and  precipitated  eastward  of  its  center, 
and  that  the  impetus  of  the  falling  bodies  would 
thus  accelerate  the  rotary  motion  of  the  nebula. 

The  effect  upon  the  outer  portions  of 
the  nebula  would  be  slight,  if  any,  but  as 
meteorites  progressed  inward  their  contact  with 
each  successive  stratum  would  be  more  slanting, 
with  proportionately  greater  effect,  and  the 
greatest  accelerating  effect  would  be  upon  the 
portion  nearest  the  center.  Evidence  is  not 
wanting  that  rotary  motion  was  accelerated  by 
some  process,  for  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  division  of  the  great  nebula  into 
planetary  portions  would  otherwise  have  occurred. 
Till  no  more  possible  process  is  recognized, 
the  question  may  be  allowed  to  rest  .  on 
the  hypothesis,  acceptance  of  which  may  involve 
the  question  of  the  continuance  of  the  accel- 
erating effect  upon  the  sun  to  the  present  time. 
It  may  possibly  be  so  continued  without  detriment. 


12  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

The  suggestion  that  contiguous  world  systems 
impart  rotary  motion  to  each  other,  gives  rise 
to  another — that  the  planetary  planes  of  such 
systems  have  a  general  uniformity  of  position, 
or  inclination.  Thus,  also,  there  would  be  a 
uniformity  of  direction  of  their  axes,  and  of 
their  progress  through  space. 

As  we  proceed,  we  shall  find  the  hypothesis 
of  rotary  motion  given  here  well  supported. 
Agreeably  with  it,  we  find  that  the  planes  of  the 
planetary  orbits  are  in  the  position  that  would 
result  from  having  motion  imparted  to  them  by 
other  systems,  moving  along  with  ours,  side  by  side. 

The  process  of  gathering  impalpable  primordial 
matter  sufficient  for  the  creation  of  an  immense 
system  of  worlds,  doubtless  required  time  equal  to 
many  millions  of  our  years.  The  field  from  which 
it  was  gathered  was  trillions  of  miles  in  extent. 
The  nebulous  clouds  had  imperceptible  growth,  and 
moved  very  slowly  while  in  the  more  distant  parts 
of  the  district.  But  the  central  mass  continued  to 
grow  till  it  became  an  immense  heated  nebula, 
having  a  breadth  of  more  than  six  thousand  millions 
of  miles. 


Mosaic  Days  Explained.  13- 

When  we  consider  the  inconceivable  length 
of  every  interval  denoting  progress  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  system  of  worlds,  we  would  marvel 
at  the  patient  waiting  of  the  Almighty  Creator 
could  we  forget  that  he  is  busy  with  millions  of 
other  worlds  in  all  stages  of  advancement,  large 
numbers  of  them  having  mighty  populations, 
individually  and  collectively  needing  His  assistance 
every  hour.  Always  busy,  the  years  of  eternity 
are  His.  He  can  wait  through  the  immense  periods 
consumed  in  the  creation  of  a  system  of  worlds. 

An  illustration  of  the  Creator's  liberal  use  of 
time  is  found  in  His  account  given  by  Moses,  of 
His  creative  work.  There  was  no  human  witness 
of  it,  therefore  there  could  have  been  no  account 
of  it  transmitted  to  Moses  by  human  agency,  nor 
could  he  have  known  of  it  in  any  other  way  than 
by  inspiration.  We  have  a  graphic  account  of  the 
divine  authorship,  and  the  delivery  to  him  of  the 
ten  commandments.  Does  not  that  instance  of 
divine  communication  warrant  us  in  the  belief  that 
God,  in  some  manner,  gave  to  Moses  the  account 
of  the  creation  for  the  purpose  of  transmitting 
it  down  to  posterity?  Moses  handed  it  down,  not 
of  his  own  knowledge,  but  as  God,  in  his  own 


14  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

terms,  gave  it.  The  plan  of  creation  was  God's 
own,  the  commands  were  His,  the  materials  were 
His,  the  works  were  His,  and  the  days  were  His 
own  in  length,  "one  day  as  a  thousand  years," 
or,  perhaps,  as  a  million  of  years.  We  have 
farther  authority  for  giving  the  record  of  creation 
this  construction,  in  the  account  of  the  sixth  day's 
work.  In  it  were  created  the  beasts  and  the  cattle, 
and  every  creeping  thing.  (Think  of  the  time 
allowed  by  geologists  for  such  multiplex  accretions 
of  animal  life.)  Then  He  created  man,  male  and 
female,  and  gave  them  authority  over  every  living 
thing. 

A  more  minute  account,  in  the  next  chapter, 
states  that  Adam  was  placed  in  the  garden  of  Eden, 
and  charge  was  given  him  to  dress  it,  and  keep  it; 
and  that  he  gave  names  to  all  cattle,  and  to  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field, 
but  "there  was  not  found  a  help  meet  for  him," 
after  which  labors  Eve  was  created;  all  this  in  the 
sixth  day.  It  is  so  evident  that  God,  in  His  works, 
made  a  liberal  use  of  time — doing  all  by  natural 
methods  and  means,  that  we  may  say  he  could  not 
have  required  Adam  to  go  through  an  experience 
of  years  during  a  part  only  of  the  first  twenty -four 


Sources  of  Heat.  15 

hours  of  his  life.  We  are  constrained  to  regard 
the  sixth  day  as  one  after  God's  reckoning  of  time, 
perhaps  thousands  of  years,  or  of  centuries,  after  the 
manner  of  the  five  previous  days.  Following  this 
method,  we  find  no  discrepancy  between  the  Mosaic 
account  of  creation  and  the  time  given  in  the 
geological  records. 

As  the  evening  and  the  morning  of  the  seventh 
day  were  not  mentioned  in  the  account,  it  is  pre- 
sumable that  it  had  not  expired,  but  that,  like  the 
preceding  days,  it  was  for  many  thousands  of 
years — possibly  till  the  beginning  of  the  next  fol- 
lowing creation. 

Our  great  nebula^having  attained  full  size,  had 
an  appearance  similar  to  those  seen  in  the  starry 
heavens.  A  central  nucleus  had  been  forming  by 
condensation  of  the  nebulous  matter,  and  was  still 
gathering  in  and  absorbing  the  matter  near  it,  while 
that  farther  away  felt  the  counter-attraction  of 
the  immense  mass  farther  out,  which,  with  its 
centrifugal  force  separated  it  from  the  central  body. 

An  eminent  author  has  stated  that : 

"There  are  two,  and  only  two,  conceivable 
sources  from  which  the  prodigious  amount  of 
energy  possessed  by  our  sun  and  solar  system 


1 6  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

can  possibly  have  been    derived.     The  one    source 
is  gravitation." 

He  styles  the  other  source  uthe  impact  theory." 
By  the  former  he  seems  to  imply  the  con- 
densation only  of  the  great  nebula  into 
the  solid  bodies,  the  sun  and  its  attendants; 
beginning  at  the  middle  of  the  process,  and 
considering  only  the  effect  of  gravitation  in  the 
condensation  of  the  nebula.  In  explanation  of  the 
impact  theory,  he  says  : 

<  'Suppose  two  bodies,  each  equal  to  one-half  of 
the  mass  of  the  sun,  moving  directly  toward  each 
other  with  the  velocity  of  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  miles  per  second.  These  bodies  would,  in  virtue 
of  that  velocity,  possess  *  *  *  energy,  which, 
converted  into  heat  by  the  stoppage  of  their 
motions,  would  suffice  to  maintain  * 
the  present  rate  of  the  sun's  radiation  for  a  period 
of  fifty  millions  of  years."* 

If  we  may  presume  to  examine  this  theory, 
we  would  inquire  into  the  probability  of  the  as- 
sumed accelerated  velocity  of  the  supposed  two 
bodies  moving  toward  each  other. 

" According  to  this  theory,*  the  absolute  motion  of 
the  stars  is  due  to  motions  which  originally  belonged 
to  the  two  component  masses  out  of  which  the  star 

*Jas.  Croll,  in  "Stellar  Evolution,"  (preface.) 


Impact  Theory  Staied.  17 

*  There  is  strong  presumptive  evidence 
that  the  motion  of  the  stars  is  due  to  this  cause. 
We  know  that  there  are  stars  which  have  a  far 
greater  velocity  than  can  result  from  gravitation. ' '  * 

Applying  that  assertion  to  the  star  Groombridge 
1830,  which  has  an  alleged  velocity  of  two 
hundred  miles  a  second,  he  adds  : 

"The  probability  is,  however,  that  the  star  de- 
rived its  motion  from  the  source  from  which  it 
derived  its  light  and  heat,  namely,  from  the  col- 
lision of  the  two  masses  out  of  which  it  arose."* 

So  much  depends  upon  knowing  the  truth 
or  error  of  the  suggestion  that  acceler- 
ated motion  may  result  from  the  collision 
of  the  two  bodies  in  motion,  that  the  solution  of 
the  problem  requires  our  most  careful  attention^ 
The  theory  implies  that  upon  the  two  bodies 
approaching  each  other  obliquely  and  colliding, 
thus  merging  into  one,  the  velocity  of  the  resulting 
body  will  be  greatly  increased. 

Let  us  analyze  the  proposition  by  a  few  ex- 
amples. For  brevity  and  convenience,  let  A  and 
B  represent  two  approaching  globes  of  equal  size 
and  weight  as  above  stated,  and  their  velocities 
equal. 

*Jas.  Croll,  in  "Stellar  Evolution,"  (preface.") 

—2 


18  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

1.  If  they  approach  each  other  in  a  direct  line, 
and  collide,  the  resulting  body  will  be  at  rest. 

2.  If  B  is  at  rest,  and  A,  approaching,   strikes 
it  squarely,   A  will  move    on    at    half    its   former 
velocity,    carrying   B  with  it. 

3.  Now      suppose    both    to     be     moving     on 
lines     of     direction     at    right    angles    with    each 
other.     A,   colliding    with    B    squarely,    loses    half 
of    its    velocity,    as   in    example    2.       B,    colliding 
similarly   with    A,    loses    half   of   its  velocity,  and 
the   two     move    on    diagonally    together    in     one 
mass,    at   half   of   their   former    velocity,    or  with 
a   little    more     than    half,    for    the    united    mass 
would    traverse     the     diagonal    of   a    square  to    a 
corner    as    quickly   as    that    in    example     2     does 
the    perpendicular,    or    the    nearest    point   to   the 
side   of  a    square. 

4.  Now    let    them     approach    each    other     ob- 
liquely   at   any   angle   that   will    cause   a    collision 
that   will   result   in    a   union    of   the     two     bodies 
in    one   globe.     Each,   in  colliding  with  the  other, 
must   suffer   a   loss   of   speed,    and    the    resulting 
body     moves     on     accordingly     with      diminished 
velocity. 


Impact  Theory  in  Error.  19 

A  crushing  collision  must  always  result  in 
retarded  motion. 

A  crushing  collision  resulting  from  very  ob- 
lique lines,  approaching  parallelism,  could  only 
result  in  a  mass  of  craggy  fragments,  unfused 
by  the  scanty  heat  evolved  in  the  crushing  of 
the  two  colliding;  bodies. 

o 

Thus  we  discover  that  the  proposed  theory 
provides  no  process  by  which  accelerated  mo- 
tion of  the  stars  can  be  procured.  To  produce 
the  amount  of  energy  and  heat  required  by  the 
formula,  requires  more  than  twice  the  velocity 
of  any  star  known.  In  the  absence  of  the  re- 
quired velocity,  the  complete  failure  of  the 
impact  theory  is  made  evident. 

We  are  acutely  sensible  of  the  delicacy  of 
attacking,  or  attempting  to  overthrow  the  pub- 
lished theory  of  any  author  engaged  in  the 
investigation  of  obscure  possibilities  whereby  the 
interests  of  science  may  be  advanced,  especially 
where  the  closest  scrutiny  of  all  possibilities  is 
desirable.  But,  do  not  the  interests  of  science 
require  the  detection  and  disclosure  of  errors 
that  perplex  investigators,  and  obscure  their 
minds  with  uncertainties  2  The  impact  theory 


20  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

has  been  quoted  by  eminent  authors  as  being  a 
possible  true  guide  to  the  solution  of  certain 
problems  of  heat  and  velocity  among  the  stars. 
The  thought  of  a  possibility  of  such  a  result 
causes  them  to  relax  their  efforts  in  the  line 
of  their  labors,  and  thus  their  possible  achieve- 
ment of  success  is  delayed. 

There  are  other  details  of  the  theory  which  it 
may  not  be  necessary  to  discuss.  But  it  is  es- 
pecially desirable  to  consign  to  oblivion  all  sugges- 
tions of  numbers  of  immense  dark  globes  flying  at 
random  in  every  direction  through  space,  not  only 
exciting  our  fears  of  encountering  them  and 
endangering  our  safety,  but  also  projecting  other 
puzzling  difficulties.  The  mysterious  origin  of 
those  numerous  dark  bodies  would  remain  to 
be  explained.  Having,  in  all  our  studies  of 
the  displays  of  creative  wisdom  and  power,  ob- 
served the  marvellous  order,  stability,  and  com- 
pleteness that  pervade  the  universe,  the  bare 
suggestion  that  many  mighty  worlds  may  be 
flying  at  random  through  the  heavens  does  vio- 
lence to  our  reverence  for  the  sublime  perfec- 
tion of  those  displays — violence  the  more  rude 
if  the  suggestion  emanates  from  a  scientific 


No  Dark  Worlds  Flying 


21 

man  who  is  regarded  as  an  oracle  of  wisdom . 
As  infallible  divine  control  in  the  physical*  uni- 
verse is  typical  of  the  same  governance  in  the 
spiritual  world;  so  instances  of  failure  in  the 
former  would  be  quoted  to  the  destruction  of 
faith  in  spiritual  things.  Science  would  also 
suffer  irretrievable  loss  if  her  votaries  lose  faith 
in  Him  to  whom  she  is  solely  indebted  for  an 
unerring  basis  for  her  every  enterprise  in  the 
marvelous  order  and  stability  of  His  works. 

Suggestions  have  been  made  and  repeated, 
that  the  ring  of  the  outside  planet  was  the 
first  thrown  off  the  great  nebula.  In  adopting 
and  advocating  another  theory,  it  is  with  an 
assurance  of  a  good  reason  for  it.  Naturally, 
and  without  doubt,  the  central  nucleus  was  the 
first  formed,  as  has  been  observed  of  some  of 
the  distant  nebulae  now  seen  in  the  heavens. 
By  its  great  attractive  power,  it  would  soonest 
gather  all  the  nebulous  matter  from  the  space 
immediately  around  it,  thus  separating  itself 
from  the  nebulous  mass  beyond. 

The  first  suggestions  of  the  nebular  hypothesis 
arose,  doubtless,  from  observing  the  distant  neb- 
ulae in  the  heavens.  If  we  follow  up  the  sug- 


22  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

gestions  by  observing  the  apparent  development  of 
worlds  within  them,  noting  in  one  a  dim  central 
nucleus,  and  in  another  the  bright  nucleus  sep- 
arated from  the  nebulous  ring  around  it;  is  it 

o 

not  •  obvious  that  in  some  instances  the  first 
division  within  the  nebula  arises  from  the  con- 
densation and  shrinkao-e  of  the  nucleus,  thus 

o  " 

separating  it  from  the  surrounding  nebulous 
mass  out  of  which  the  planets  and  their  satel- 
lites were  to  be  formed  ?  As  a  matter  of  econ- 
omy of  heat,  or  exemption  from  excessive  heat, 
it  was  expedient  to  make  the  separation  of  the 
sun  from  the  nebulous  mass  the  first  in  order, 
instead  of  throwing  off  matter  for  each  planet 
from  the  outside,  one  by  one,  at  intervals. 

Myriads  of  tributary  nebulas  were  still 
pouring  in  and  generating  heat  that  was 
essential  to  the  sun  for  future  use,  but 
which  it  were  better  not  to  have  it  imparted 
to  the  nebulous  mass  from  which  the  planets 
were  to  be  constructed.  Had  the  ring  for  the 
outside  planet  been  thrown  off  first,  and  the 
others  by  turns,  at  long  intervals;  the  remaining 
inside  mass  would  have  been  acquiring  more 
intense  heat  from  being  in  contact  with  the  sun, 


Planetary  Division  of  the  Nebula.         23 

which  would  have  resulted  in  an  intensity  of 
heat  in  the  inside  planets  that  would  have  required 
additional  millions  of  years  for  necessary  cool- 
ing of  the  molten  globes. 

Are  not  the  star  nebulae  in  the  heavens  supposed 
to  represent  the  stages  of  progress  through  which 
our  own  great  nebula  passed  toward  planetary 
formation?  If  so,  may  not  the  ring  nebula,  with 
a  star  sun  nucleus,  represent  the  stages  of  our  sun 
when  it  had  been  separated  from  the  entire 
encircling  nebulous  mass?  It  may  not  be  essen- 
tial to  know  by  what  method  the  nebulous 
ring  was  subdivided  into  planetary  rings.  ^  But 

*Since  writing  the  foregoing,  the  following  note  has 
come  to  view:  "  M.  Plateau  places  a  quantity  of  oil  in 
in  a  glass  vessel,  filled  with  a  mixture  of  water  and 
alcohol,  the  lower  strata  of  which  are  less  dense  than 
the  oil,  whilst  the  upper  strata  are  lighter.  The  mass 
of  oil  descends  in  the  mixture  as  far  as  the  stratum  of 
of  the  same  density,  where  it  remains,  taking  the  form 
of  a  sphere.  In  this  state,  the  mass  of  oil  is  freed  from 
the  action  of  gravity,  and  the  form  it  takes  is  due 
simply  to  the  mutual  attraction  of  its  molecules.  Next, 
by  the  help  of  a  metallic  disk  introduced  with  care  into 
the  sphere  of  oil,  and  a  stem  which  passes  through  its 
center  and  communicates  with  a  handle,  M.  Plateau 
imparts  to  the  system  a  progressive  movement  of  rota- 
tion. When  this  movement  is  slow,  the  sphere  is  trans- 
formed into  a  spheroid,  swelled  at  the  equator,  flattened 
at  the  poles,  under  the  action  of  the  centrifugal  force, 
which  develops  the  movement.  The  phenomenon  ac- 


24  N&bular  Hypothesis. 

if  analogous  examples,  as  observed  in  the  heavens 
coincide  with  nature's  suggested  method  of  sep- 
aration of  the  planetary  nebulae  from  the  sun; 
and  if  we  find  that  it  is  the  method  requiring 
the  least  time  for  cooling  the  planets,  it  may 
be  found  impracticable  to  devise  a  theory  re- 
quiring far  longer  time.  Various  estimates  have 
been  made  of  the  time  required  for  cooling  the 
earth  from  its  molten  stage  down  to  one  hun- 
dred degrees.  They  have  ranged  from  fifty  mill- 
ions to  three  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  years. 
Doubtless  they  varied  according  to  estimates  of 

counts  then  perfectly  for  the  form  of  the  planets.  If 
the  movement  becomes  more  rapid,  the  flattening  be- 
comes more  considerable:  the  spheroid  at  last  becomes 
indented  at  the  poles,  spreading  out  more  and  more  in 
the  horizontal  direction,  until  the  oil,  leaving  the  disk 
entirely,  is  formed  into  a  circular  ring.  At  this  moment, 
the  phenomena  at  once  explains  both  the  zones  detached 
at  the  origin  of  the  solar  mass,  and  the  rings  of  Saturn. 
Lastly,  if  the  rotary  movement,  rendered  more  rapid,  is 
continued  with  a  disk  of  a  diameter  sufficiently  large, 
the  centrifugal  force,  in  driving  the  particles  of  the 
surrounding  medium  towards  the  ring,  soon  separates  it 
into  several  isolated  masses,  which  form  themselves  into 
individual  spheres;  each  of  which  preserves  for  a  certain 
time  a  movement  of  rotation  of  its  own  in  the  same 
direction  as  the  ring.  This  last  phase  of  the  phenomena 
offers  a  striking  analogy  with  that  of  the  formation  of 
the  centers  of  condensation  which,  on  Laplace's  hypo- 
thesis, are  the  origin  of  the  planets  of  our  system.''— 
Guillemen's  "The  Heavens,''  p.  393,  (Footnote.) 


Heating  and  Cooling  of  Globes.  25 

"the  temperature  of  the  molten  globe  at  the 
beginning  of  the  term.  Even  the  shortest 
^estimate  that  can  be  formed  must  apparently 
prove  a  severe  trial  of  the  sun's  radiant  energy, 
for  geologists  require  at  least  an  additional 
iifty  millions  of  years  to  satisfy  their  theories 
of  later  evolutions.  It  would  appear  reasonable 
to  so  form  our  theories  that  the  period  of 
-existence  of  the  earth  to  the  present  time  shall 
l>e  brought  as  far  within  the  limit  of  the 
probable  duration  of  the  sun's  radiant  energy  as 
^appearances  will  justify.  To  that  end  the  heat 
of  the  earth's  nebulous  ring  should  be  kept, 
or  estimated,  as  low  as  possible  in  order  that 
the  time  of  the  cooling  of  the  globe  when 
iormed  may  not  require  an  extravagant  estimate. 
In  that  procedure  may  be  seen  the  economy 
of  nature's  method  of  separating  between  the 
condensed  nucleus  and  the  encircling  nebulous 
mass,  previous  to  the  division  of  the  mass  into 
planetary  rings. 

We  need  to  give  some  attention  to  the 
source  of  the  unceasing  heat  of  the  sun.  We 
have  assumed  that  the  great  nebula  was  formed 
from  myriads  of  smaller  nebulae  assembled  from 


26  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

all  parts  of  the  district  assigned  for  the  pur- 
pose. There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  upon 
the  apparent  completion  of  the  great  nebula, 
and  the  ensuing  division  of  it,  there  was  any 
cessation  of  the  inflow  of  the  tributary  nebulae. 
There  was  no  influence  arising  from  the  trans- 
formation in  the  great  nebula  that  could  afl'ect 
the  gathering  of  cosmical  dust  throughout  the 
district.  It  is  evidently  still  gathering,  and 
large  numbers  of  meteors  formed  from  it  are 
flowing  in,  and  in  some  degree  sustaining  the 
sun's  energy;  though  the  supply  has  apparently 
been  so  reduced  that  there  would  now  be  ob- 
served but  a  fraction  of  the  amount  required 
to  sustain  the  sun  in  full  vigor.  But  the 
supply  may  have  been  kept  up  in  full  many 
millions  of  years,  even  after  the  planets  were 
all  formed.  If  the  supply  began  to  diminish 
upon  the  complete  formation  of  the  sun's  form, 
and  continued  in  a  constant  ratio  down  to  the 
present  time,  to  exhaustion,  say  one  hundred 
millions  of  years,  there  was  an  equivalent  to  a 
full  supply  for  half  of  that  length  of  time. 
If  twenty  millions  of  years  passed  before  the 
supply  began  to  fail,  that  period  can  be  added 


Heat  in  the  Nebula  Discovered.  27 

to  the  former;  and  we  begin  to  see  how 
the  difficulties  of  accounting  for  long  geological 
eras  may  be  obviated  consistently  with  the  long 
continuance  of  the  sun's  radiant  energy. 

It  has  been  said,  theoretically,  that  gravitation 
could  not  have  been  the  sole  source  of  the 
sun's  radiant  energy,  that  is,  gravitation  result- 
ing from  the  condensation  of  the  nebula.  But 
we  have  to  accept  the  fact  of  the  energy.  To 
meet  it  we  can  recognize  the  heating  effect  of 
gravitation  in  the  forming  of  the  nebula,  when 
the  impact  of  every  tributary  meteorite  in  it 
contributed  additional  heat.  If  the  heat  of  a 
nebula  is  sufficient  to  give  it  a  glowing  aspect,, 
as  appears  in  those  observed  in  the  heavens; 
condensation  of  the  substance  and  the  heat 
into  an  extremely  smaller  compass  accounts  for 
the  intensity  of  the  heat  of  the  sun  and  plan- 
ets. Too  close  attention  cannot  be  given  to 
this  process  of  heating,  for  it  will  be  presented 
several  times,  more  or  less  directly,  for  con- 
sideration. 

The  source  of  heat  in  the  solar  sysfem  has- 
long  been  involved  in  mystery. 

Having    hypothecated   a   long    term    of    lively 


28  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

energy  for  the  sun,  we  may  still  need  to  appor- 
tion the  term  economically  among  the  historical 
phenomena  of  the  long  interval,  with  the  hope 
of  making  some  progress  toward  a  satisfactory 
theory.  In  many  instances  of  investigation  of 
mysterious  occurrences,  suggestions  have  been 
made  of  the  probable  course  of  nature  with 
them,  which  have  subsequently  been  verified  by 
discoveries  of  eventualities  confirming  the  sug- 
gestions. 

In      the     matter     of     the     evolution      of     the 

• 
sun     and      planets     from    the     great    nebula,     it 

is  desirable  to  discover  the  shortest  method  of 
preparing  the  earth,  among  other  planets,  for 
the  introduction  of  organic  life  upon  it.  While 
nature's  methods  are  generous  of  time,  we  dare 
not  presume  them  to  be  wasteful. 

The  mystery  of  the  stupendous  phenomena 
by  which  the  heat  in  the  solar  system  was 
produced  may  justify  a  repetition  of  some 
of  the  suggestions  offered,  with  additional 
particulars.  The  subject  is  full  of  mysteries 
so  profound  that,  to  many  minds,  reiterations 
of  explanations  Avith  various  connections  will 
.assist  them  to  grasp  the  mysteries. 


Order  of  Division  of  the  Nebula.  2& 

A  prominent  item  in  the  consumption  of  time 
is  the  cooling  of  the  earth  in  the  first  stages- 
of  its  existence.  The  length  of  time  required 
for  it  was  proportioned  to  its  temperature  when 
it  first  took  form.  If  the  ring  of  the  outer 
planet  had  been  thrown  off  first,  and  the  others 
in  succession,  aggregating  more  than  three 
thousand  millions  of  miles,  radius  measurement,, 
of  nebulous  rings,  the  earth  ring  would  have 
been  absorbing  the  intense  and  rapidly  increas- 
ing heat  of  the  central  nucleus,  the  sun,  through 
nearly  all  that  time,  probably  thousands  of 
centuries,  or  millions  of  years,  till  it  was  alsa 
thrown  off;  and  its  heat  would  have  been  ex- 
cessive, greater  by  several  thousand  degrees- 
than  by  the  method  of  an  earlier  separation  of 
the  entire  planetary  nebula  from  the  sun. 

The  heat  of  the  sun  at  the  present  time  has  been 
variously  estimated  at  from  four  thousand  de- 
grees F.  to  three  millions.  Later  esti- 
mates, apparently  most  approved  by  recent 
writers,  are  eighteen  thousand  to  fifty  thousand 
degrees.  It  was  probably  greater  when  in  its- 
full  pristine  vigor.  Therefore  the  earliest  pos- 
sible disconnection  of  all  planetary  matter  from 


30  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

that  body  was  desirable.  In  that  interpretation 
of  the  phenomena  of  the  process,  the  nearer 
the  temperature  of  the  earth,  in  its  formation, 
could  be  kept  down  to  five  thousand  degrees, 
the  shorter  time  could  be  estimated  for'  its 
cooling.  The  cooling  above  that  point,  five 
thousand  degrees  in  twenty  or  thirty  millions 
of  years,  and  perhaps  many  more,  may  have 
been  saved  by  early  separation. 

If  the  early  separation  of  the  entire  planetary 
nebula  from  the  nucleus  is  found  to  be  the  actual 
process  among  the  starry  nebulae,  thus  giving  it 
an  early  delivery  from  an  absorption  of  excessive 
solar  heat,  it  will  go  far  toward  obviating  the 
difficulty  under  which  investigators  have  labored 
of  being  unable  to  find,  within  a  reasonable 
interval  of  sun  life,  time  for  all  the  events 
and  changes  occurring,  to  satisfy  the  periods 
required  by  geological  theories  in  the  forma- 
tion and  existence  of  the  earth  down  to  the 
present  time.  The  time  necessary  for  cooling 
the  earth  down  to  one  hundred  degrees  of 
surface  temperature  has  been  represented  by 
stupendous  estimates.  By  the  hypothesis  of 
moderate  heating  of  the  globe,  we  may  find 


Form  of  Solar  System  District.  31 

the  probable  time  required  for  cooling  the  earth 
reduced  to  twenty-five  millions  of  years,  or  less. 
The  next  chapter  will  explain  a  still  farther 
reduction  of  the  time  required  for  cooling. 
Having  suggested  that  twenty  millions  of  years 
may  have  passed  after  the  time  of  the  apparent 
completion  of  the  sun's  form  before  the  supply 
of  matter  for  its  sustentation  began  to  diminish, 
now  let  us  investigate  the  source  of  the  con- 
tinued supply.  To  do  that  it  is  well  to  con- 
sider the  form  and  direction  of  the  district 
from  which  the  cosmical  dust  is  drawn  for  use 
in  the  solar  system. 

Our  nearest  known  neighboring  world  on 
one  side  is  about  twenty-two  millions  of 
miles  distant  from  our  system.  There 
may  be  worlds  as  near,  or  nearer,  on  other 
sides  of  our  district — dead  suns  that  are 
invisible,  or  giving  so  little  light  by  reason  of 
old  age,  that  they  are,  with  good  reason,  sup- 
posed to  be  very  distant. 

The  district  pertaining  to  the  solar  system 
cannot  be  of  spherical  configuration.  As 
in  a  heap  of  oranges,  while  they  are  in 
contact  with  each  other,  there  are  inter- 


32  Nebular  Hypothesis. 

slices  of  space  among  them,  so  between  the 
districts  of  world  systems  there  are  immense 
intersticial  regions,  very  distant,  from  which 
little  matter  was  drawn,  comparatively,  for 
forming  the  great  nebula.  They,  with  other 
borders  from  which  the  supplies  had  not  been 
mainly  drawn,  continue  to  send  liberal  contri- 
butions. We  are  not  to  presume  that  the 
central  zone,  from  border  to  border  of  the 
district,  was  entirely  cleansed  of  the  cosmical 
dust. 

As  rain-drops,  descending  through  a  cloud,, 
gather  particles  of  water  from  it,  leaving  the 
cloud  afloat,  so  minute  nebulae,  as  they  float,, 
attract  many  atoms  of  cosmical  dust,  but  leave 
more  than  they  gather.  The  cosmical  dust 
remaining  is  slightly,  but  more  and  more  rari- 
fied.  It  dispenses  a  slight  portion  to  every 
passing  nebula,  but  is  probably  never  quite 
exhausted.  In,  and  near  the  central  part  of 
the  district,  where  the  attraction  of  the  great 
bodies  was  strongest,  less  cosmical  dust  remained; 
but  near  the  limits,  adjoining  the  other  districts,, 
are  immense  borders  in  which  the  matter  is 
but  slightly  attracted  toward  any  system.  They 


Gathering  of  Cosmic  a  I  Dust.  33 

furnish  a  constant,  though  slowly  diminishing  . 
supply,  which  has  contributed  meteoric  nourish- 
ment, not  merely  for  forming  the  sun,  but  for 
a  continuation  of  its  life  and  vigor,  a  provision 
that  requires  recognition  and  investigation.  It 
is  not  probable  that  such  districts  were  allotted 
with  regard  to  economy  of  space,  but  with 
sufficient  to  furnish  a  continued  supply  of  cos- 
mical  dust  for  the  sustentation  of  the  sun's 
vigor. 

No  theory  will  be  quite  satisfactory  that 
provides  a  completed  sun  at  the  beginning  of 
its  radiant  life — stored  with  heat  for  only  a 
limited  number  of  years,  liberal  estimates  of 
which  fail  to  account  for  half  of  the  time  that 
would  satisfy  the  periods  of  actual  terrestrial 
occurrences.  We  are  constrained  to  accept  esti- 
mates of  geological  intervals  of  length  heretofore 
unaccountable.  Our  hypotheses  must  aim  to 
account  reasonably  for  means  of  recognizing 
and  -satisfying,  the  intervals,  for  we  cannot  cur- 
tail them.  We  can  do  so  by  assuming  that 
the  length  of  our  district  in  space  is  two  or 
three  times  its  breadth;  and  that  while  the 
—3 


34  The  Sun. 

cosmical  dust  in  the  central  portions  has  long 
since  been  absorbed  by  the  sun,  the  prolonga- 
tions of  the  district  have  continued  to  furnish 
large  supplies  for  sustaining  the  sun's  vigor. 
It  has  been  assumed  that  the  amount  of  meteoric 
supplies  for  the  purpose  as  appears  from  the 
meagre  amount  intercepted  by  the  earth  in 
passing  to  the  sun  must  be  very  inadequate 
for  its  sustentation  at  the  present  time.  But 
the  planetary  orbits  lie  in  an  exhausted  zone — 
one  little  traversed  by  the  continuous  supplies, 
a  zone  lying  directly  across  the  district,  coin- 
ciding, or  nearly  so,  with  its  shortest  diameter, 
while  the  more  abundant  supplies  come  from 
the  direction  of  its  longest  diameter,  or  axis. 

Our  district  may  be  supposed  to  be  limited 
by  contiguous  world  systems  in  the  directions 
of  them,  but  open  to  more  extended  space  in 
other  directions — limited  in  the  direction  of  the 
invariable  plane  of  the  planetary  orbits,  but 
open  in  the  direction  of  the  axis  of  that  plane. 
Undiminished  supplies  may  therefore  come  from 
both  of  those  polar  directions,  and,  if  unde- 
flected  from  their  direct  course,  would  fall 
upon  the  northern  and  southern  zones  of  the 


Meteoric  Supplies  for  the  Sun.  35 

sun,  leaving  its  equatorial  zone  around  which 
the  planets  revolve,  free  from  the  main  currents 
of  meteors  by  which  the  sun  is  fed  and  its 
energy  sustained.  (Diversion  of  the  supplies 
from  the  polar  zones  will  be  explained  farther 
on.)  Thus  may  continuation  of  the  supply  of 
cosmical  dust  be  found  to  be  promoted  for. 
sustaining  the  sun's  vigor.  The  supplies  fur- 
nished mainly  to  the  polar  zones  of  the  sun 
are  not  necessarily  small.  The  circular  zones 
that  would  be  thus  exposed  to  the  peltings  of 
the  meteoric  showers  are  each  about  seven 
hundred  thousand  miles  in  diameter;  the  extent 
of  their  breadth  being  three  times  the  mini- 
mum distance  from  the  earth  to  the  moon, 
representing  an  immense  breadth  of  those  dis- 
tant regions  that  may  yet  yield  .abundant  sup- 
plies of  world  dust.  In  reference  to  such 
meteorites  as  are  known  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth,  coming,  as  they  do  from  the  regions 
of  the  shortest  diameter  of  the  district,  Mr.  A. 
Winchell  says  : 

"One  of  these  cosmical  bodies,  falling  upon 
the  sun  must,  by  the  concussion,  produce 
about  seven  thousand  times  as  much  heat 
as  would  be  generated  by  an  equal  mass 


36  The  Sun. 

of    coal.       It   is    thus    that   the     enormously    high 
temperature     of    our     sun    is    maintained."* 

Dr.    Tyndall    says  : 

"A  body  coming  from  an  infinite  distance 
would  develop  more  than  nine  thousand  times 
the  heat  produced  by  an  equal  mass  of  coal."f 

Those  aerolites  coming  from  the  farther  re- 
gions of  the  longer  diameter,  being  farther 
away  from  the  influence  of  the  sun's  attraction, 
and  are  longer  in  forming,  attain  to  larger 
size  and  increased  velocity  in  approaching  the 
sun,  and  produce  a  higher  degree  of  heat,  pro- 
portioned to  their  vastly  increased  force,  which 
is  the  square  of  the  velocity.  Probably  all  that 
come  so  far  as  from  those  distant  regions  are 
solidified  on  the  way.  Their  journeys  last 
thousands  of  centuries,  and  would  be  equivalent 
to  infinite  distances  referred  to  above. 

Compute  the  energy  of  those  coming  one 
hundred  thousand  times  the  distance  of 
the  earth  from  the  sun,  weighing  one 
hundred  tons,  (twenty  seven  hundred  tons 
at  the  surface  of  the  sun,)  entering  its 

*' 'Sketches  of  Creation,"  p.  410. 
fGuilliraan's  "The  Sun,"  p.  276. 


Process  of  Heating  the  &un.  37 

gaseous  body  with  a  velocity  of  three  hundred 
and  ninety  miles  a  second. 

The  elongations  of  the  district  permit  these 
estimates  of  long  distances,  heavy  aerolites, 
and  great  velocity.  Altogether,  the  utmost 
energy  is  obtained  for  prolonging  the  pun's 
radiant  capacity  and  long  endurance.  Among 
the  estimates  made  of  the  sources  of  the 
sun's  heat  is  one  by  Prof.  Newcomb,*  that 
in  order  to  keep  it  up  ua  mass  of  matter 
equal  to  our  planet  would  have  to  fall  into 
our  sun  every  century."  But  taking  into 
account  the  great  velocity  of  the  larger  part 
of  meteoric  accumulations,  coming  many  thou- 
sand times  farther  than  the  distance  of  the 
earth  from  the  sun,  which  distance  was  a 
factor  in  the  above  estimate,  a  many  times 
smaller  mass  would  cause  as  much  heat.  It 
would  be  increased,  not  merely  in  proportion 
to  the  velocity,  but  proportionate  to  the  force 
that  produced  it,  which  is  the  square  of  the 
velocity. 

At  the  rate  given  by  Prof.  Newcomb  the 
matter  added  in  sixteen  millions  of  years 
*Popular  Astronomy,  p.  507. 


38  The  Sun. 

would  equal  half  of  the  mass  of  the  sun, 
which  would  have  been,  at  the  beginning  of 
that  period,  only  half  of  the  present  size. 
If  it  had  when  newly  formed,  only  half  its 
present  mass,  its  accumulated  accretions,  taking 
into  account  in  their  impact  in  the  sun  the  mar- 
vellous energy  derived  from  their  velocity,  its 
heat  must  have  been  sustained  several  times 
sixteen  millions  of  years.  The  sun,  being 
entirely  gaseous,  offers  but  little  resistance  to 
a  falling  meteorite,  but  too  much  to  permit  the 
passage  of  such  a  body  through  it. 

Aerolites  formed  in  the  most  distant  regions  of 
the  prolonged  district  may  well  be  estimated  to  be 
of  enormous  size,  being  formed  in  regions  where 
they  were  subject  to  very  slight  attractions  till, 
by  the  union  of  many  nebula?,  they  attained 
to  immense  volumes,  and  are  condensed  in  their 
long  journeys  to  the  sun,  into  solid  bodies, 
some  of  them  hundreds  of  tons  in  weight. 
Coming  from  as  remote  regions,  their  velocity 
is  equal  to  that  of  comets  on  their  first 
journey  to  the  vicinity  of  the  sun.  With  such 
velocity  and  force,  they  plunge  to  astonishing 
depths  in  the  body  of  the  sun,  whence,  being 


Size  and  Velocity  of  Aerolites.  39 

converted    into    enormously   expanded    volumes    of 
gas,    they     are     ejected    with    extreme     force    and 
velocity,    and     become    very    conspicuous    in    the 
form    of   the    sun's   prominences. 
Dr.   Tyndall   says  : 

"It  is  easy  to  calculate  the  maximum 
and  minimum  velocity  communicated  by  the 
sun's  attraction  to  an  asteroid  circulating 
around  it;  the  maximum  occurs  when  the 
asteroid  approaches  the  sun  in  a  straight  line, 
coming  from  an  infinite  distance,  for  then  the 
entire  force  of  attraction  acts  upon  it  without 
any  loss;  the  minimum  is  the  velocity  which 
would  be  merely  capable  of  causing  to  revolve 
around  the  sun  a  body  in  close  proximity  to 
its  surface.  The  final  velocity  of  the  first  body 
would  be  three  hundred  and  ninety-two  miles 
per  second,  that  of  the  second  two  hundred 
and  seventy-one  miles. ' ' * 

The     distance    traversed     by    a   meteorite    from 

the  farthest  regions  of  our  prolonged  district 
would  be  equivalent  to  infinity  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  the  sun's  attraction.  Therefore  the 
maximum  velocity  would  be  attained,  and  in 
turn  velocity  would  be  given  to  the  expelled 
matter  proportionate  to  the  depth  to  which  it 
pierced  the  sun. 

A    very    great    velocity   would   be   required     at 

*Guilliman's  "The  Sun,"  p.  275. 


40  The  Sun. 

the  exit  to  raise  a  prominence  three  hundred 
thousand  miles  against  the  powerful  attraction 
of  the  sun. 

The  chief  resistance  to  the  downward  pro- 
gress of  a  meteorite  in  the  body  of  the 
sun  would  be  in  its  density,  especially  at 
a  great  depth,  but  the  greater  the  depth 
and  density  the  greater  the  force  and 
velocity  with  which  the  rarified  body  is  expelled. 
The  force  may  well  be  pronounced  inconceivable 
and  the  velocity  unaccountable  that  hurls  gaseous 
matter  three  hundred  thousand  miles  in  height 
against  the  sun's  powerful  attraction.  If  with 
a  producing  cause  so  evidently  practicable  to 
some  degree,  the  result  is  past  man's  under- 
standing, and  the  phenomena  incomprehensible, 
how  paralyzing  to  his  utmost  powers  must  the 
phenomena  have  been,  with  no  apparent  or 
imaginable  cause. 

The  gas  generated  from  the  dissolution  of  a 
large  meteorite  at  a  great  depth  would  not  be 
expelled  in  a  globular  body,  but  in  a  stream 
as  the  gas  is  evolved  gradually  from  the  con- 
version of  the  injected  mass.  In  such  cases  if 
the  entrance  of  the  meteor  is  slanting,  its 


Cause  of  the  Sun's  Prominences.  41 

progress  at  an  inclination  during  its  dissolution 
would  result  in  a  continuous  horizontal  disruption 
of  the  sun's  surface  producing  an  elongated  sun- 
spot,  and  also  a  leaning  prominence.  That 
many  prominences  rise  obliquely  from  the  sun's 
surface  appears  from  reported  observations  and 
representations  of  the  curve  they  make  on 
reaching  their  outer  limit.  Were  they  caused 
by  any  force  or  thing  entirely  within  the 
sun,  not  injected,  the  rise  should  be  perpendicu- 
lar, as  a  bubble  of  air  rises  in  water 
seeking  exit  at  the  nearest  point.  Were 
they  caused  by  substances  that  had  fallen 
perpendicularly  upon  the  surface,  the  jets 
would  rise  vertically  or  nearly  so>  That 
they  do  not  is  susceptible  of  explanation. 
Aerolites  formed  in  the  polar  elongations, 
in  their  progress  toward  the  sun  partake  of 
the  rotary  motion  of  the  district,  "and  are 
constantly  deflected  by  centrifugal  force  farther 
from  the  axis  than  would  be  their  direct 
course  uninfluenced  by  any  swerving  force. 
Though  the  rotary  motion  of  the  district 
is  slow,  and  the  deflecting  force  therefore 
slight,  the  continual  influence  of  it  without 

O         ' 


42  The  Sun. 

any      opposing      force,       on      a      moving     body 

/ 
through     journeys     of      thousands      of      centuries 

would  cause  a  wide  deviation  of  it  from 
a  direct  course,  and  a  consequent  slanting 
entrance  into  the  gaseous  globe,  followed  by 
an  inclination  of  a  jet  or  prominence  on 
being  expelled. 

That  wide  deviation  from  a  direct  course 
seems  to  be  sufficient  to  so  deflect  from 
the  axis  the  supplies  from  the  polar  regions 
that  they  fall  upon  the  sun  more  than 
fifty  degrees  from  its  poles. 

No  elements  have  been  known  from  which 
to  estimate  the  extent  of  divergence  of 
meteorites  from  the  axis,  but  the  effects 
of  their  impact  in  the  sun  serve  as  a 
guide  by  which  the  divergences  are  recog- 
nized. The  laws  are  known  by  which  their 
actions  are  regulated,  and  the  existence  of 
the  prominences  and  sun-spots  for  which 
no  other  probable  cause  is  known  calls  for 
the  explanation  which  they  afford.  Something 
may  be  learned  pertaining  to  this  matter 
from  the  orbits  of  comets  and  the  directions 
of  their  planes.  A  comet  whose  origin  was 


Relations  of  Sun-spots  to  Prominences.     43 

near  the  axis  of  the  district  would  be  subject 
to  the  same  divergent  laws  as  are  the 
meteorites.  Its  flight  is  discernible,  and  its 
plane  may  be  defined.  While  one  plane 
alone  would  give  no  sure  index  of  its  originr 
a  preponderance  of  numbers  of  orbital  planes 
would  indicate  with  some  precision  the  nearness 
of  their  origin  to  the  axis.  In  their  visible 

c1 

approach,  the  angle  from  the  axis  being 
known,  and*  comparison  being  made  with  the 
positions  of  the  planes,  not  only  their  origin, 
but  also  the  approximate  amount  of  their 
divergence  from  the  axis  may  possibly  be 
ascertained. 

It  is  said  that  there  seems  to  be  a  relation 
between  sun-spots  and  prominences  on  the 
sun,  nearly  all  occurring  in  zones  within 
forty  degrees  of  the  equator.  Does  it  not 
appear  probable  from  the  explanation  given 
that  they  .are  caused  by  meteorites  that  pierce 
the  sun  to  great  depths,  and  on  being 
gasified  and  expelled  in  immense  volumes  with 
inconceivable  force  produce  the  prominences,  and 
so  violently  disrupt  the  surface  to  great  distance 
around  as  to  cause  the  mysterious  sun-spots? 


44  The  Sun. 

The  comparatively  small  number  of  spots  and 
prominences  on  the  sun's  equatorial  zone  is 
probably  due  to  the  exhaustion  of  meteoric 
supplies  in  the  region  of  space  pertaining  to 
it.  There  would  be  an  increase  of  numbers 
of  spots  from  the  equator  to  the  poles,  but 
that  all  meteorites  by  which  they  are  caused 
are  swerved  from  their  direct  course  toward 
the  equator  in  proportion  to  their  distance  from 
it,  so  that  nearly  all  fall  to  the  sun  within 
forty  degrees  of  the  equator,  but  not  within 
the  planetary  equatorial  zone. 

The  spreading  out  upon  the  sun's  surface,  of 
small  meteors  that  are  gasified  and  greatly  ex- 
panded before  reaching  it,  may  cause  the  cloud-like 
prominences.  They,  of  large  volume,  may  cause 
spots  on  entering  the  sun,  and  on  their  exit 
in  some  other  places  may  produce  others. 
Thus  two  or  three  meteors  would  produce  a 
group  of  sun-spots. 

The  weight  of  gases  composing  the  sun  would, 
uncompressed  upon  the  earth's  surface,  vary 
little  from  that  of  our  atmosphere,  but  at 
the  sun's  surface  their  weight,  like  that  of 
the  entering  meteorites,  and  of  all  bodies,  is 


Velocities  in  Meteorites  and  Prominences.   45 

twenty-seven  times  greater,  and  would  therefore 
present  a  denser  and  better  defined  surface. 
But  gas  is  extremely  elastic,  and  notwith- 
standing its  greater  density  in  the  sun's  body 
yields  tc  easy  passage  of  those  swift  meteoric 
bodies  to  depths  so  profound  that  their  expul- 
sion is  with  velocity  that  is  unaccountable  by 
any  methods  yet  discovered.  The  effect  of  the 
sun's  twenty-seven  fold  attraction  upon  a  mete- 
orite, even  after  its  entrance  into  that  body, 
facilitating  its  passage  through  the  resisting 
medium,  is  worth  noting  in  estimating  the 
depth  of  its  plunge.  The  same  powerful 
attraction  has  a  counter  effect  upon  the  ejected 
mass,  retarding,  with  the  attendant  friction, 
its  outward  movement,  and  yet  such  a  mass 
has  been  estimated  to  have  attained  a  velocity, 
in  its  exit,  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
per  second. 

This  hypothesis  presents,  in  a  greater 
degree  than  any  explanation  heretofore  offered, 
the  elements  of  possibilities  in  the  tissue 
of  forces,  velocities,  occurrences,  bodily  move- 
ments, and  their  observed  effects.  Indeed  those 


46  The  Sun. 

effects    demand    a    reasonable    exposition    of    pro- 
ducing  causes. 

The  phenomena  of  solar  disturbances  and 
protuberances  are  known  to  exist,  and  intel- 
ligent curiosity  eagerly  investigates  every 
clue  to  reasonable  investigations  of  them.  The 
enormous  meteorites  are  possible,  their  veloc- 
ities possible,  and  the  effects  of  their  impact 
into  the  sun  possible.  Can  any  more  effective 
or  probable  means  be  conceived  for  producing 
the  mysterious  prominences  and  spots  on  the 
sun?  While  only  the  meagre  supply  of 
meteorites  was  known  of  which  those  falling 
upon  the  earth  were  samples,  they  would  not 
be  deemed  capable  of  producing  those  displays. 

While  no  probable  cause  or  origin  of  the  sun's 
prominences  had  been  known  or  conceived,  tacit 
consent  could  but  be  given  to  a  supposition 
that  the  explanation  of  them  was  altogether  in 
the  inherent  nature  of  the  sun;  but  since  a 
conceivable  cause  of  them  is  found  in  the  pos- 
sibility that  the  surface  of  the  sun  is  punctured 
and  disturbed  by  large  numbers  of  aerolites 
falling  upon  it  from  distant  regions,  the  question 
may  well  be  raised  whether  any  cause  of  a 


Discussion  of  Prominences.  47 

disturbance  sufficient  to  produce  those  explosive 
eruptions  commonly  termed  prominences  could 
imaginably  be  supposed  to  be  inherent  in  the 
fiery  mass  of  the  sun  after  many  millions  of 
years  duration  in  which  all  extraneous  and  dis- 
turbing substances"  have  been  burned  out,  so 
that  nothing  remained  in  the  sun  to  cause  an 
eruption.  If  there  are  any  disturbing  elements 
within  it,  is  it  supposable  that  they  can  cause 
more  than  slight  bubbling  commotions  on  the 
surface  ? 

Is  it  conceivable  that  any  element  can  con- 
centrate in  the  gaseous  body  of  the  sun  in 
such  volume  and  explode  with  such  force  as  to 
raise  prominences  three  hundred  thousand  miles 
in  height?  It  is  far  easier  .to  conclude  that 
large  bodies  of  extraneous  matter  penetrated 
the  sun  to  great  depths,  and  that  the  expulsion 
of  the  gases  evolved  from  them  produce  the 
eruptive  prominences.  That  prominences  have 
different  forms  and  appearances  is  explainable 
by  the  suggestion  that  aerolites  varying  greatly 
in  their  composition  must  evolve  a  variety  of 
gases  that,  upon  being  expelled  from  the  sun, 
take  various  forms  in  the  prominences. 


48  The  Sun. 

Both  the  sources  and  the  character  of  the  sup- 
posed continued  supplies  may  be  brought  in  question 
by  investigators.  In  regard  to  the  sources,  it 
is  suggested  and  the  consideration  of  it  demanded 
by  the  necessity  of  accounting  for  the  long 
continuance  of  the  sun's  radiant  energy  for 
which  no  other  means  has  been  found.  The 
source  suggested  is  but  a  continuation  of  supplies 
from  a  district  in  which  there  has  been  but 
little  or  no  diminution  of  the  inflow  of  tributary 
nebulae.  The  real  change  noted  in  the  matter 
of  meteoric  nourishment  for  the  sun  consists  in 
the  discontinuance  from  exhaustion  of  nearly  all 
the  supplies  from  the  direction  of  the  equatorial 
zone  in  which  are  the  planetary  orbits. 

Objections  that  might  be  made  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  supplies  would  relate  to  the  large 
size  imputed  to  them.  Of  aerolites  that  have 
fallen  upon  the  earth  only  fragments  were  gen- 
erally found,  but  enough  to  indicate  that  some 
of  them  were  very  large,  weighing  several  tons. 
One  found  in  Greenland,  said  to  weigh  forty 
tons,  may  have  been  formed  in  a  remote  corner 
border  of  the  central  zone  where  the  attractions 
of  two  t  or  more  systems  held  it  in  balance  till 


Supplies  for  the  Sun  Discussed.  49 

it   had   attained    to    an    immense     size   -before    its 
course  was    determined. 

In  the  extreme  limit  of  our  supposed  pro- 
longed district  some  may  be  formed  under  similar 
conditions  at  immensely  greater  distances,  and 
proportionately  larger.  Being  formed  at  distances 
four  to  eight  thousand  times  that  of  the  planet 
Neptune  from  the  Sun,  they  approach  it  with 
such  velocity  that  the  heat  resulting  from"  the 
impact  is  very  great. 

If  this  be  found  to  be  the  true  theory, 
it  will  dispose  of  the  conception,  that 
the  aerolites,  on  approaching  the  sun,  are 
repelled  and  sent  on  orbital  probation  till 
they  are  found  qualified  to  enter  that  sphere 
of  light  and  warmth;  and  then  settling  gradually 
to  the  sun,  producing  only  a  nine-thousandth 
part  as  much  heat  as  would  result  from  falling 
directly  upon  it,  with  continual  increase  of 
velocity,  from  the  region  of  their  formation. 

There  are  some  features  that  require  close 
attention,  even  though  it  involves  some  repetition. 
The  meteoric  supplies  that  come  from  the 
farthest  regions  of  the  district  are  doubtless 
gathered  into  larger  bodies,  are  thoroughly  solid- 


50  The  Suit. 

ified,  and,  plunge  into  the  sun  with  such  speed 
and  force — many  times  greater  than  bodies  of 
equal  mass  falling  from  the  distance  of  the 
earth  to  the  sun,  that  the  heat  produced  by 
them  is,  proportionately  at  least,  greater.  The 
sun,  therefore,  suffers  far  less  diminution  of  its 
energy  from  the  failure  of  a  large  part  of  the 
supplies  from  the  central  zone  than  would  be 
estimated  from  their  volume  alone.  It  follows 
from  the  character  of  the  supplies,  and  from 
the  tremendous  force  with  which  it  is  pierced 
by  them,  that  the  sun's  energy  is  sustained  far 
beyond  the  proportionate  increase  of  its  mass, 
a  matter  important  to  the  problem  of  its  en- 
durance. 

If  the  suggestion  that  the  sun's  prominences 
result  from  the  plunging  of  meteorites  into  its 
body  is  entitled  to  belief,  it  gives  force  also 
to  the  estimates  of  the  great  size  of  the  meteo- 
rites. Prominences  three  hundred  thousand  miles 
in  height  of  such  magnitude  as  to  be  observable 
more  than  ninety  three  millions  of  miles  dis- 
tant could  be  produced  only  by  enormous  masses 
driven  into  the  sun  with  tremendous  force.  The 
violence  with  which  objects  are  thrown  from 


Discussion  Continued.  51 

volcanoes  more  than  two  miles  in  height  is  ex- 
treme. Now  conceive  the  force  required  to  eject 
substances  from  the  sun  three  hundred  thousand 
miles  in  height  against  an  attractive  force  twen- 
ty-seven times  greater  than  the  restraining  force 
of  the  earth's  attraction.  Then  estimate  the 
depth  in  the  sun,  and  the  enormous  bulk  re- 
quired to  give  'the  repelling  force  displayed  in 
the  sun's  prominences.  Since  such  phenomena 
are  known,  they  can  be  attributed  to  the  precipi- 
tation of  meteorites  upon  the  sun,  however  in- 
conceivable the  result.  But  reject  the  explana- 
tion afforded  by  the  action  of  meteorites,  and 
what  other  solution  of  the  problem  can  be  given? 
If  the  phenomena  of  prominences  and  sun- 
spots  had  their  origin  within  the  sun,  their 
occurrence  would  not  be  confined  mainly  to 
two  zones  within  forty  degrees  of  the  equator, 
but  would  be  distributed  more  uniformly  over 
the  entire  surface.  Their  occurrence  within 
those  zones  therefore  require  other  explanations. 
A  more  reasonable  one  has  been  given — that 
they  are  the  effects  of  meteorites  from  the 
polar  regions,  that  have  been  so  diverted  from 
their  regular  course  to  the  sun  that  they  fall 


53  The  Sun. 

upon  it  more  than  fifty  degrees  from  its  poles. 
Were  it  assumed  as  a  necessary  conclusion 
that  the  sun's  prominences  are  produced  by 
bodies  of  matter  falling  upon  and  penetrating 
the  sun,  and  were  estimates  to  be  made  of  the 
probable  size  of  them,  and  the  required  force 
of  their  thrusts  to  raise  prominences  to  their 
observed  height,  would  the  masses  and  velocities 
ascribed  1o  the  falling  meteorites  be  deemed  suf- 
ficient? Having  observed  prominences  of  un- 
known height,  were  it  required  to  estimate  the 
utmost  height  to  which  flaming  jets  could  be 
raised  from  the  sun's  surface  by  the  means 
suggested,  would  not  one  hundred  miles  height 
be  deemed  extravagant?  Then  to  what  height 

O  O 

would  it  be  supposible  that  prominences  could 
be  raised  on  the  sun  without  the  instrumental- 
ity of  falling  meteorites,  but  from  forces  in- 
herent in  the  sun? 

Propositions  abounding  with  absurdities  may  be 
essential  to  place  others  in  a  proper  light,  but 
extremes  of  absurdities  can  scarcely  equal  the 
measurement  of  existing  incomprehensible  phe- 
nomena of  natural  achievements  as  observed  in 
the  amazing  projectile  forces  of  the  sun's  prom- 


How  is  the  Sun's  Heat  Maintained?        53 

inences.  No  effort  to  subject  them  to  the  un- 
derstanding should  be  neglected  by  earnest  in- 
quirers. 

A  difficulty  arises  of  introducing  theories  in- 
volving strange  movements  in  etherial  regions 
of  indefinite  limits  regarding  the  formation  of 
imponderable  bodies  from  impalpable  dust.  Even 
ably  comprehensive  minds  require  much  time 
and  repeated  efforts  to  grasp  the  propositions, 
to  conceive  of  the  movements  and  limits  in  the 

regions    of    space,    and   the    resulting    effects  upon 

» 
the    mysterious    sun. 

There  seems  to  be  a  growing  conviction  in 
the  minds  of  men  that  the  sun,  completed  at 
the  time  of  its  formation  could  not,  of  its  in- 
herent capacity,  have  furnished  the  light  and 
heat  required  to  the  present  time  without  ex- 
haustion. A  learned  author  says: 

"The  sun's  heat  cannot  be  kept  up  by  com- 
bustion, *  ;  *  "  *  it  would  have  burned  out 
long  ago,  even  if  made  of  solid  coal,  burning 
in  oxygen.  Nor  can  it  be  simply  a  heated 
body  cooling  down.  Huge  as  it  is,  an  easy  cal- 
culation shows  that  its  temperature  must  have 
fallen  greatly  within  the  last  two  thousand  years 
by  such  a  loss  of  heat,  even  if  it  had  a  spe- 
cific heat  higher  than  that  of  any  known  sub- 
stance. As  matters  stand  at  piesent,  the  avail- 


54  The  Sun, 

able  theories  seem  to  be  reduced  to  two,  that 
of  Meyers,  which  ascribes  the  solar  heat  to  the 
energy  of  metegric  matter  falling  on  the  sun; 
and  that  of  Helmholtz,  who  finds  the  cause  is  a 
slow  contraction  of  the  sun's  diameter." 

The  two  theories  are  combined  in  the  one 
proposed,  the  former  to  maintain  the  sun's  en- 
ergy, and  assist  in  maintaining  it  till  the  latter 
shall  suffice  to  maintain  it  as  long  as  it  may 
be  required. 

Efforts  made  to  account  for  the  continuance 
of  the  sun's  radiant  energy  during  all  the  time 
required  to  satisfy  geological  records  had  not 
been  satisfactorily  successful.  While  it  was  ap- 
parently impossible  to  account  for  a  longer  past 
life  of  the  sun  than  forty  to  sixty  millions  of 
years,  (and  astronomical  science  would  refuse  to 
allow  much  longer  time,)  the  records  of  geolog- 
ical science  seem  to  demand  many  millions  of 
years  longer  time.  Now  that  a  way  is  found 
for  possibly  accounting  for  a  much  longer  con- 
tinuance of  the  sun's  past  life,  an  effort  may 
reasonably  be  made  to  allow,  for  its  continu- 
ance, the  utmost  limit.  The  possibility  of  doub- 
ling the  former  estimate  will  serve  to  show  how 

*Young's  General  Astronomy,  p.  222. 


Prospecting  for  Discoveries.  55 

unsatisfactory  that  estimate  was.  In  any  case 
there  will  doubtless  be  a  disposition  to  make 
the  most  liberal  estimates  that  acceptable  theories 
will  warrant,  with  the  probability  that  there  is 
much  that  eludes  us  of  the  mighty  movements 
under  consideration,  and  that  the  estimates  made 
of  them  are  but  feeble  attempts  at  their  meas- 
urement. 

We  had  been  pressed  to  a  conviction  that  there 
must  be  a  source  of  supplies  for  the  sun  yet 
to  be  discovered,  and  because,  the  proposition  is 
new  and  too  stupendous  to  be  grasped  easily, 
it  is  repeated  here  with  some  variety  and  mi- 
nuteness of  explanation,  with  a  .view  to  fixing  it 
more  firmly  in  the  mind,  for,  aside  from  its 
own  importance,  which  is  great;  out  of  it  many 
propositions  arise  contributing  to  explanations  of 
some  of  the  most  profound  mysteries  of  the 
solar  system,  each  one  of  which  will  require 
the  undivided  attention  of  inquirers.  It  is  like 
opening  up  a  new  mine  abounding  with  many 
precious  metals.  Additional  interest  attaches  to 
every  one  discovered. 

The  meteoric  matter,  as  indicated  by  the  amount 
intercepted    by   the    earth,    being    but   a   fraction 


56  The  Sun. 

of  the  amount  required,  the  question  had  arisen, 
could  there  not  be  larger  supplies  found  in  some 
other  direction?  If  the  regions  of  our  district 
are  limited  laterally,  and  their  supplies  of  cos- 
mical  dust  are  thereabouts  nearly  exhausted,  may 
not  the  supplies  be  found  more  abundant  in 
other  directions?  Our  district  may  not  be  so 
confined  on  all  sides  as  it  traverses  space.  It 
may  be  found  to  extend  much  farther  in*  the 
directions  of  its  axis.  Then  the  sun  may  be  re- 
ceiving upon  its  polar  zones  ample  nourishment 
in  meteoric  supplies  from  the  prolongations  of 
the  district,  without  injury  or  detriment  to  the 
planets  or  their  inhabitants.  There  remains  only 
enough  in  the  planetary  zone  to  suggest  to  dis- 
cerning minds  the  probable  source  of  supplies 
for  the  mysterious  long  continuance  of  the  sun's 
radiant  energy. 

Is  there  not  manifest  design  in  so  forming 
the  district  that  while  the  zone  comprising  the 
planetary  orbits  should  be  nearly  exhausted  of 
cosmical  dust,  the  sun  should  still  be  recruited 
and  its  vigor  maintained  from  the  directions 
of  its  polar  regions  without  detriment  to 
the  ^planets,  but  for  the  benefit  of  their  occu- 


Prospecting  lor  Discoveries,  Continued.      57 

pants  ?  Does  not  the  adaptability  of  the  hypo- 
thesis, in  view  of  the  necessity  of  accounting 
for  the  mysterious  long  life  of  the  sun,  com- 
mend its  acceptance?  It  is  possible,  and  even 
probable,  that  a  continuous  fall  of  meteorites  upon 
the  earth,  at  a  rate,  upon  equal  areas,  sufficient 
to  maintain  the  full  vigor  of  the  sun,  would 
be  a  more  afflictive  scourge  upon  its  occupants 
than  all  the  floods,  cyclones  and  earthquakes 
occurring  in  modern  times,  and  would  even 
render  the  earth  uninhabitable. 

Cloud-like  nebulse  that  are  among  the  least 
resolvable  and  appear  to  be  the  latest  formed, 
indicate  by  their  irregular  form,  in  some  degree, 
the  irregularity  of  the  districts  in  space  from 
which  they  are  formed.  The  one  in  Andromeda 
is  said  to  be  two  and  one-half  degrees  long, 
and  one  degree  broad.  Its  narrow  breadth  in- 
dicates  the  nearness  of  other  world  systems  that 
limit  its  lateral  dimensions,  and  probably  im- 
part rotary  motion  to  it,  as  all  world  systems 
must  have  it  to  preserve  equilibrium  under  the 
law  of  gravitation.  Therefore  the  plane  of  its 
planetary  orbits,  when  formed,  will  be  in  the 
direction  of  its  least  diameter,  and  its  axis 


58  The  Sun. 

lengthwise  of  the  district,  after  the  manner  of 
our  own  solar  system,  as  set  forth  in  this 
treatise,  whereby  the  sun  receives  prolonged 
nourishment  from  the  polar  extensions  of  its 
district  in  space,  and  wherein  the  abundance  of 
comets  have  their  origin,  as  explained  in  the 
next  chapter. 

This  hypothesis  suggests  phenomena  by  which 
the  sun's  vigor  may  have  been  prolonged  twenty 
millions  or  more  of  years.  But  allowing  for 
the  matter  added  for  the  purpose  during  that 
interval,  the  sun  may  have  had  less  than  half 
of  its  present  mass  originally,  and  possibly  radi- 
ated less  heat.  The  heat  of  the  sun  was  less 
needed  while  the  planets  were  molten  or  sub- 
sequently intensely  heated.  As  the  possibility  is 
apparent,  it  would  be  a  reasonable  suggestion  that 
for  the  acceleration  of  the  cooling  of  the  planets  it 
was  originally  very  small,  but  that  when  the 
planets  had  become  so  cool  as  to  need  its  heat, 
it  had  by  constant  growth  by  meteoric  accre- 
tions attained  nearly  its  present  size. 

Then  let  us  take  still  another  step  backward 
in  our  hypothesis  of  the  solar  system.  It  is 
possible,  and  even  probable,  that  at  the  time 


Progress  in  Discovery.  5£ 

of   the    separation    of   the    sun  from    the    envelop- 
ing   mass    of   the    great    nebula   it   was  itself    still 

o  D 

in  a  nebulous  condition,*  far  advanced,  at  the 
center,  toward  a  gaseous  density,  but  on  the 
whole  nebulous,  with  a  bulk  of  less  magnitude 
than  any  of  the  nebulous  rings  of  which  the 
surrounding  planets  were  to  be  formed.  That 
central  nebulous  bulk,  when  condensed  into  a 
.  gaseous  body,  but  for  the  constant  meteoric 
accretions,  would  have  but  little  exceeded  the 
size  of  the  largest  planets.  Its  heating  and 
lighting  capacities,  however,  would  be  sufficient 
for  all  purposes  during  many  millions  of  year& 
in  which  those  benefits  were  not  needed,  but 
as  they  became  necessary  the  sun  would  have 
vastly  and  sufficiently  increased  in  size. 

The  desirability  of  overcoming  the  difficulty 
of  accounting  satisfactorily  for  a  length  of  life  of 
the  sun  that  will  cover  the  claims  for  geological 
occurrences  and  intervals  attributed  to  its  term 
of  existence,  will  justify  a  speculative  explora- 
tion of  the  mysteries  of  the  division  of  the 
great  nebula  into  many  nebulous  masses,  in 
the  hope  of  discovering  other  possible  occur- 
rences or  conditions  in  that  solar  life  that  will 


60  The  Sun. 

serve  for  farther  acceptable  explanation.  If 
well  known  occurrences  fail  to  satisfy  require- 
ments, possibilities  may  be  acceptable. 

Estimates  of  the  duration  of  sun  life  have 
generally  been  based  on  a  full  size  and  com- 
pleted form  of  the  solar  body  from  the  begin- 
ning. Its  assets  of  known  capacities  have  been 
scheduled  and  found  insufficient  to  meet  both 
expenditures  of  the  alleged  past  eras,  and  appar- 
ent liabilities  for  the  future.  Now  if  it  can  be 
shown  possible  that  the  sun  attained  to 
nearly  its  full  size  only  when  the  planets, 
having  their  temperature  reduced  to  a  moderate 
degree  had  need  of  its  light  and  heat  for  the 
support  of  organic  life  upon  them;  or,  only 
when  the  growing  sun,  having,  in  the  past,  at- 
tained to  a  sufficient  energy  for  all  then  exist- 
ing requirements  may  have  reached  its  maxi- 
mum condition  many  millions  of  years  later,  will 
not  that  leave  the  hypothetical  conditions  of 
early  sun-life  unimpaired? 

If  there  be  allotted  to  the  sun  on  the  divis- 
ion of  the  great  nebula  into  annular  portions 
so  much  of  it  as  would  form  a  mass  equal  to 
that  of  all  the  other  bodies  of  the  solar  sys- 


The  Sun  Nebulous  in  Its  Infancy.          (51 

tern,  would  not  that  suffice  at  a  time  when 
there  was  no  need  of  a  sun  only  as  a  central 
attraction  and  a  globe  upon  which  to  build  for 
future  use? 

The  hypothesis  long  entertained  that  there  was, 
in  the  beginning  of  planetary  formation,  in  any 
sense  a  completed  sun,  gives  occasion  for  a 
farther  discussion  of  the  process  by  which  it 
is  supposed  to  have  been  formed.  While  the 
separation  of  the  mass  was  progressing,  of  that 
which  was  to  form  the  sun,  from  that  which 
was  around  it,  whether  the  latter  had  been 
divided  and  thrown  off  one  by  one  from  the 
outside,  or,  the  division  of  the  outward  mass 
into  planetary  rings  had  progressed  simultane- 
ously; the  central  mass  must  have  still  been 
nebulous,  and  undergoing  condensation  from  a 
nebulous  to  a  gaseous  form — a  very  slow  pro- 
cess, which  should  not  be  forgotten. 

It  is  far  from  probable  that  the  central  neb- 
ulous mass  was  a  half  of  that  of  the  great 
nebula.  If  it  was  not,  it  would  not  have  equalled 
a  seven-hundredth  part  of  the  present  mass  of 
the  sun.  Though  its  body  was  continually  aug- 
mented by  meteoric  accretions,  it  would,  when 


62  The  Sun. 

first  in  completed  form,  from  the  distance  of 
the  earth  appear  but  a  little  larger  than  a  first 
class  star — large  enough,  however,  for  the  needs 
of  the  new  planets  of  the  system — just  adapted 
in  size  for  the  beginning  of  a  growth  that 
should  be  adequate  for  the  requirements  of  grad- 
ually maturing  planets,  and  for  the  culmination 
of  its  capacity  whenever  in  the  maturity  of  the 
system  it  could  best  be  applied. 

Rotary  motion,  in  its  origin  having  been  slow, 
it  was  probably  increased  before  the  division  of 
the  great  nebula,  and  it  is  also  possible  that  it  has 
•been  accelerated  gradually  with  the  increase  of 
the  mass  and  attraction  of  the  sun. 

For  an  inspiring  conception  of  the  continual 
growth  of  the  sun,  its  mass  may  properly  be 
roughly  estimated  at  nearly  four  hundred  times 
that  of  the  original  great  nebula  at  the  time 
of  its  division.  That  is  a  larger  proportion  than 
former  figures  represent.  The  estimate  of  the 
proportion  grows  with  repeated  consideration  of 
the  subject. 

There  has  probably  been  suggested  to  many 
minds  the  possibility  of  the  division  of  the 
great  nebula  into  planetary  fragments  siraulta- 


Continual  Supplies  for  the  Sun.  63 

neously  with  their  separation  from  the  sun,  and  not 
without  reason.  It  might  result  from  the  acceler- 
ated rotary  motion  produced  by  the  continual 
falling  of  meteorites  east  of  the  axis  of  the  neb- 
ula, the  effect  of  which  would  be  greatest  on 
the  central  portions,  as  appears  by  the  veloc- 
ities derived  therefrom  by  the  planets  near  the- 
center,  and  the  gradually  slower  motion  of 
every  planet  in  its  order,  numbering  outward. 
The  rate  of  motion  of  the  central  mass  having 

o 

increased  to  such  an  extent  that  the  contiguous 
mass  could  not  move  along  with  it,  they  may 
have  therefore  separated.  Each  planetary  por- 
tion of  the  nebula  may  for  a  like  reason  have 
separated  from  the  next  outside  one,  all  by  an 
undeviating  law  of  velocities  and  proportions 
applicable  to  the  great  nebulae  throughout  the 
universe. 

If  this  explanation  be  correct,  it  would  indi- 
cate that  the  central  mass  was  still  nebulous — 
very  far  from  having  become  a  completed  sun, 
and  of  proportions  infinitely  less  than  has  gen- 
erally been  estimated. 

The  mass  of  the  sun  is  estimated  by  astron- 
omers to  be  about  seven  hundred  times  greater 


64     .  The  Sun. 

than  the  aggregate  of  all  other  bodies  of  the 
solar  system.  If  they  also  have  growth,  it  is 
too  slight  to  be  taken  into  account  in  connec- 
tion with  that  of  the  sun.  A  planet  twenty- 
four  thousand  miles  in  diameter,  ninety-three 
millions  of  miles  from  the  sun,  would  present 
an  area  of  a  capacity  to  intercept  more  falling 
meteorites  than  do  all  the  planets  together  with 
their  satellites  and  the  asteroids  in  their  vari- 
ous positions.  The  area  presented  by  such  a 
globe  is  less  than  one-two  hundred  and  forty 
millionth  of  the  sphere  having  for  its  radius 
the  earth's  distance  from  the  sun,  or  ninety-three 
millions  of  miles.  The  fraction  indicates  the 
slight  proportion  of  meteoric  matter  received  by 
the  planets  even  when  the  supply  was  undiimn- 
ished  in  the  planetary  zone.  It  appears  there- 
fore that  almost  the  entire  amount  of  meteoric 
matter  supplied  through  all  the  ages  of  the 
solar  system  has  contributed  to  the  augmenta- 
tion of  the  sun's  mass  and  energy.  If  the  sup- 
ply has  been  abundant,  as  represented,  it  has 
had  vast  and  continual  growth,  and  must  .have 
derived  only  infantile  proportions  from  its  origin 


Mending  the  Old  Ways.  65 

in  the  great  nebula.  It  now  has  a  monopoly 
of  the  supplies. 

Of  the  small  portions  of  meteoric  matter  that 
have  been  distributed  among  the  bodies  of  the 
solar  system,  the  earth's  portion  may  be  esti- 
mated at  a  trifle  more  than  one-ninth. 

These  estimates  can  never  be  verified  because 
the  original  masses  of  the  bodies  named  cannot 

c5 

be  known,  but  they  will  serve  the  purpose  of 
familiarizing  the  mind  with  the  probabilities  of 
the  phenomena.  Out  of  them  may  be  discerned 
the  probability  that  the  time  has  not  yet  ar- 
rived for  ascribing  the  cause  of  the  sun's  heat 
to  a  contraction  of  its  diameter. 

Satisfactory  estimates  may  also  be  ventured 
that  will  meet  the  requirements  of  geological 
science  for  possible  phenomena  and  occurrences, 
the  accounting  for  which  has  heretofore  baffled 
the  efforts  of  astronomers. 

Because  of  the  novelty  of  the  propositions 
offered  regarding  mysterious  great  movements, 
and  the  consequent  difficulty  of  procuring  their 
acceptance,  the  discussion  proceeds  with  some 
reiterations.  It  will  be  observed  that,  properly, 

no    effort    is   made    to    assign    the   culmination   of 
—5 


66  The  Sun. 

the  sun  to  a  definite  age,  whether  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  or  a  little  earlier  or  later.  But  it  is 
desirable  to  present  the  general  proposition  with 
some  persistence  that  the  sun  has  grown  continu- 
ally from  a  very  small  body,  by  meteoric  accretions, 
to  its  completed  form  and  size  in  recent  times. 

Familiarity  with  the  possibilities  of  the  grad- 
ual growth  of  the  sun  through  all  the  periods 
of  formation,  cooling,  solidifying,  transmutation, 
and  reconstruction  of  the  earth  (see  chapters  ± 
and  5)  will  beget  such  acquiescence  in  its  prob- 
ability, that  there  will  be  little  inclination  to 
base '  estimates  of  the  duration  of  the  sun  upon 
a  belief  in  a  completion  of  its  body  at  the 
time  of  its  separation  from  the  surrounding 
nebulous  mass.  The  culmination  of  the  sun's 
energy  may  be  placed  early  or  late  in  plan- 
etary existence. 

Let  it  be  admitted  a  possibility,  and  assent 
may  be  obtained  to  a  probability  that  the  sun 
was,  upon  its  separation  from  the  great  nebula, 
only  a  basis  up;,n  which  to  build,  as  above  de- 
scribed, and  that  from  the  supplies  of  meteoric 
matter  showered  upon  its  mass,  it  was  enlarged 
during  all  the  time  that  it  and  the  other  bodies 


Discussion  of  Sun's  Growth.  67 

of  the  solar  system  were  being  condensed  into 
gaseous  bodies,  during  the  millions  of  years  in 
which  the  planets  were  being  solidified,  and 
farther  during  the  many  millions  of  years 
while  the  temperature  of  the  earth  was  being 
reduced  from  upward  of  four  thousand  degrees 
down  to  less  than  one  hundred  decrees.  Still 

o 

the  temperature  of  the  planets  was  very  high, 
and  the  extreme  heat  of  the  sun  would  not  be 
needed,  nor  would  it  be  necessary  till  about 
the  carboniferous  period  or  later — far  into  the 
reign  of  organic  life.  A  later  period  may 
therefore  have  experienced  the  culmination  of 
the  sun's  energy,  'possibly  extending  to  about 
the  present  era. 

We  have  no  reason  to  adjudge  nature  waste- 
ful of  heat  by  providing  it  in  full  power 
before  it  was  needed.  It  is  therefore  possible 
that  the  sun  attained  to  the  full  limit  of  its 
power  of  light  and  heat  at  a  period  nearly 
coincident  with  the  present  age,  and  that  it 
may  not  yet  have  begun  to  wane  to  an  extent 
unfavorable  to  a  very  long  continuance  of  life. 

Material  changes  of  its  temperature  are 
measured  by  millions  of  years.  Especially  at 


68  The  Sun. 

the  culminating  limit  of  its  energy  including 
the  last  unit  of  enlargement,  a  long  era  of 
inappreciable  change,  and  a  fraction  of  diminu- 
tion,— a  hundred  thousand  years  may  pass  with- 
out a  change  of  temperature  amounting  to  one 
degree.  How  appropriate  is  it  that  such  an 
interval  of  the  sun's .  existence  should  be  coin- 
cident with  the  occupancy  of  the  earth  by  the 
human  race. 

Inasmuch  as  such  occupancy  is  doubtless  the 
purpose  of  the  existence  of  the  solar  system, 
the  possibility  of  the  most  desirable  concurrence 
of  conditions  and  occurrences  becomes  happily 
a  strong  probability.  It  would  ill  accord  with 
the  economy  of  nature's  forces  to  so  arrange 
the  one  important  purpose  and  use  of  the  solar 
system  as  to  have  it  precede,  or  follow,  the 
most  favorable  time  for  the  full  benefit  and 
occupancy  of  it ;  or  to  suffer  a  waste  of  power 
by  failing  to  improve  the  period  of  the  fullness 
of  it.  Hence  it  may  be  reiterated  with  confi- 
dence that  the  possibility  of  the  growth  of  the 
sun  from  the  beginning  to  about  the  present  era 
of  its  existence  becomes  a  probability  too 
apparent  to  be  lightly  rejected. 


Infant  Sun  Nebulous.  69 

Now  having  recognized  the  possible  growth 
of  tlie  sun  through  all  its  existence  to  the  cul- 
mination of  its  vigor  and  power  at  or  near 
the  present  time,  does  it  not  appear  impossible 
that  there  could  have  been  any  semblance  of  a 
completed  sun  at  the  time  of  the  division  of 
the  great  nebula  into  planetary  rings  ?  Is  it 
not  possible  that  it  was  itself  a  nebulous  body, 
somewhat  condensed  at  its  center,  having  there- 
fore a  mass  when  condensed  into  a  gaseous 
body,  comparable  with  the  aggregate  mass  of 
the  solidified  planets  ? 

An  acceptance  of  the  hypothesis  of  the 
gradual  growth  of  the  sun  from  a  very  svnall 
beginning  will  probably  follow  a  ratioeirative 
effort  on  the  subject,  and  thus  will  appear  a 
probability  of  overcoming  the  difficulty  of 
accounting  for  the  mysterious  long  duration  of 
the  sun. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  coincidence  in  time, 
of  the  culmination  of  the  sun's  radiant  energy, 
as  herein  described,  with  the  highest  purpose 
and  use  for  which  the  solar  system  was  de- 
signed— intellectual  and  moral  culture  and  disci- 
pline, is  in  accordance  with  the  systematic  law 


70  The  Sun. 

and  order  that  pervade  nature's  works  through-, 
out  the  physical  world.  Human  life  presents  a 
parallel  instance  of  the  feebleness  of  infancy, 
and  growth  to  the  size,  strength,  and  energy 
.of  maturity.  Is  it  not  only  the  most  gratifying 
evidence,  but  also  the  highest  glory  of  intel- 
lectual achievement,  to  be  found  in  accord,  in 
our  theories  of  world  movements,  with  the  per- 
fection of  order  that  pervades  the  works  of 
nature  ? 

Doubtless  the  sun  etill  receives  abundant  me- 
teoric supplies  through  its  polar  regions,  and 
will  not  fail  while  the  planets  have  need  of  it. 
They,  being  smaller  than  it,  cool  much  faster. 
They  will  lose  their  heat,  and  their  surfaces 
will  become  waterless  and  cloudless.  The  sun 
will  shine  upon  dead  worlds,  itself  destined  to 
a  like  fate.  The  vitality  of  our  solar  system 
will  be  run  out,  never  to  be  revived.  Like  a 
cast-off  garment  it  will  pass  into  desolate 
oblivion  and  return  to  dust,  while  many  of  its 
former  occupants  will  have  donned .  imperishable 
garments,  and  passed  on  into  an  endless 
existence. 


CHAPTER  II. 


COMETS. 

Time  was,  O  mighty  Comet,  when  thy  sway 
Filled  sons  of  war  with  trembling  and  dismay. 
How  changed!  art  civilized?  and  gentle  grown? 
Now  welcomes  wait  thee  for  thy  beauty  known. 


The  belief  having  steadily  grown  for  many 
years  that  the  sun  and  other  bodies  of  the  solar 
system  had  their  origin  and  growth  from  the 
gathering  and  absorption  of  the  cosmical  dust 
of  the  regions  of  space,  the  suggestion  is  of- 
fered as  most  reasonable,  that  comets  also 
have  their  origin  in  like  manner,  and  from  the 
same  source.  The  sun,  planets,  and  satellites 
came  into  existence  through  the  intervention  of 
a  great  nebula  through  which  they  acquired  an 
orderly  system  of  rotation  that  is  very  essen- 
tial to  their  stability. 

The  comets,  without  the  intervention  of  an 
intermediate  process,  come  directly  from  the 


72  Comets. 

regions  of  space.  They  have  come  from  all 
directions,  the  planes  of  their  orbits  follow  no 
order  of  position,  and  their  orbital  motion  is  as 
often  retrograde  as  direct.  Unlike  the  planets, 
they  are  doubtless  as  perfect  in  their  first  rev- 
olutions as  ever  afterward.  That  they  have  had 
their  origin  in  the  same  district  of  space  with 
the  other  bodies  of  the  solar  system  is  far  more 
reasonable  and  easy  of  belief  than  that  their 
substance  was  gathered  within  the  sun  and 
ejected  or  erupted  with  such  force  as  to  send 
them  on  excursions  of  many  thousands  of  years 
duration. 

Any  matter  erupted  from  the  sun  can  return 
to  it  again,  as  it  does  constantly  from  its  prom- 
inences. But  there  seems  to  be  a  repulsion  be- 
tween all  comets  and  the  sun.  They  are  at- 
tracted toward  it,  but  never  to  it.  After  one 
revolution,  the  reason  may  be  given  that  they 
have  established  orbits.  But  that  reason  does 
not  apply  to  the  first  approach.  Any  other  bod- 
ies gravitating  toward  the  sun  from  the  depths 
of  space  would  fall  directly  upon  it.  But  com- 
etary  matter  seems  to  be  governed  by  an  un- 
known law,  a  law  of  gravitation  limited.  There 


Cometary  Repulsion.  73 

is  attraction  at  a  great  distance,  but  repulsion 
on  near  approach.  Is  it  not  evident  from  the 
following  quotation? 

"The  great  comet  of  1843  passed  within  three 
or  four  minutes  of  the  surface  of  the  sun,  and 
therefore  directly  through  the  midst  of  the 
corona.  At  the  time  of  nearest  approach,  its 
velocity  was  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  a 
second,  and  it  went  with  nearly  this  velocity 
through  at  least  three  hundred  thousand  miles 
of.  corona,  coming  out  without  having  suffered 
any  visible  damage  or  retardation."* 

Was  not  that  a  clear  case  of  mutual  shrink- 
age, or  gathering  of  skirts  as  two  persons  would 
gather  their  delicate  robes  to  avoid  contact  when 
passing  too  near  each  other? 

Were  the  earth  to  encounter  a  mighty  trans- 
lucent comet,  it  would,  doubtless,  pass  unharmed 
through  it  as  a  man  would  through  a  drove  of 
sheep,  both  comet  and  sheep  avoiding  contact, 
and  the  earth's  inhabitants  being  unaware  of  the 
encounter  if  it  were  in  the  full  light  of  day. 
Should  such  encounter  take  place  in  a  cloudless 
night,  there  might  be  a  meteoric  display  in  the 
atmosphere,  the  usual  height  above  the  earth > 
possibly  not  more  than  forty  miles. 

*Kewcomb's  "Popular  Astronomy,"  p.  251. 


74  Comets. 

Will  any  one  say  such  repulsion  is  not  accord- 
ing to  any  observed  law,  and  reject  the  sug- 
gestion? '  The  reply  is,  neither  is  the  conduct 
of  a  comet  according  to  any  known  law  excepting 
that  of  gravitation  at  a  distance.  Its  entire  course 
is  inexplicable  by  observed  laws, — its  origin,  its 
mysterious  flights,  its  substance,  its  appendages, 
its  purpose,  its  disintegration.  Hence  we  must 
observe  laws  which  they  have  unto  themselve/s. 
Doubtless  they  are  under  laws  as  strict  as  any 
others.  A  very  evident  one  relates  to  that  mys- 
terious repulsion.  Noting  their  avoidance  of  the 
sun,  we  can  but  attribute  it  to  a  combination 
of  elements,  or,  for  brevity,  call  it  an  unknown 
property  of  its  substance.  As  is  the  strange 
property  in  the  comet,  so  it  is  in  the  atomic 
matter  of  which  it  is  composed,  between  which 
and  the  matter  that  enters  into  aerolites  there 
is  no  affinity,  but  repulsion  instead.  That  gravi- 
tation is  limited  and  repulsion  prevalent  in 
comets  is  manifest  not  only  in  their  eccentric 
flights,  but  in  the  manner  of  their  dissolution 
into  meteoroids  when  the  slight  attraction  that 
drew  their  particles  together,  and  held  them  in 
form  while  they  were  in  the  prime  of  their  ex- 


Eepulsion  in  Matter  Forming  Comets.      75 

istence  has  been  overcome  in  their  decline,  and 
repulsion  prevails,  dividing  and  separating  them 
into  diminutive  meteoroids,  and  by  and  'unceas- 
ing power  scattering  them  into  orbital  streams, 
some  of  which  are  well  known. 

Repulsion  seems  to  be  inherent  in  the  sub- 
stance of  comets  throughout  their  existence,  and 
therefore  may  be  assumed  to  be.  in  full  force 
in  their  formation,  separating  their  substance 
from  that  of  which  the  sun  and  planets  have 
been  formed  and  sustained.  If  we  ignore  the 
property  and  the  law  governing  it  because  we 
do  not  understand  it,  and  because  science  fails 
to  explain  it,  we  make  it  a  stumbling  block. 

Possibly  repulsion  has  never  had  full  recogni- 
tion to  the  extent  of  its  power.  As  its  effects 
are  observed  in  gases  and  perfumes,  its  mild- 
ness exhibits  little  force.  But  so  gentle  in  ap- 
pearance is  the  power  of  gravitation  also.  The 
relative  power  of  the  two  forces  as  they  come 
in  conflict  is  more  fully  displayed  in  their  effects 
upon  mighty  globes.  Gravity  is  supreme  in  its 
effects  upon  all  bodies,  but  when  it  would  seem 
greatest,  repulsion  is  able  to  overcome  it  to 
prevent  contact  in  some  cases,  as  in  the  first 


76  Comets. 

approach  of  cornets  toward  the  sun.  It  is  worthy 
of  emphatic  note  that  this  is  not  a  case  of  atomic 
repulsion  for  the  purpose  of  dispersion  of  a  sub- 
stance, but  a  direct  conflict  of  the  two  forces 
exerted  by  immense  globes  not  far  distant  from 
each  other,  and  in  fields  most  favorable  for  both 
powers,  that  is,  nearly  in  contact.  The  power 
of  gravitation  exerted  by  the  mighty  sun,  aided 
by  the  momentum  of  the  comet,  is  met  and 
effectually  resisted  by  that  of  repulsion  in  the 
comparatively  insignificant  body  of  a  comet. 

We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  cometary 
nebulae,  formed  in  the  district  pertaining  to  the 
solar  system,  make  their  first  approach  to  the 
sun  otherwise  than  as  do  all  other  bodies 
attracted  by  it,  that  is,  directly  toward  it. 
Were  it  not  for  their  property  of  repulsion, 
they  would  go  directly  to  it ;  but  at  a  certain 
unknown  distance  from  the  sun  its  repulsion 
exerts  its  power,  and  the  comet  is  deflected 
from  its  course,  escapes  absorbtion  by  the  sun, 
and  passes  around  it.  This  repellant  force  is 
attributed  to  comets,  not  only  for  the  manner 
of  their  first  approach  to  the  sun,  but  because 
it  is  consistent  with  all  other  phenomena  of 


How  Comets  Are  Formed.  77 

their  formation  and  movements,  and  of  the  me- 
teor oids  that  result  from  their  disintegration. 
Which  is  the  more  noteworthy  in  those  sharp 
conflicts,  repulsion  as  a  force,  or  the  property 
of  cometic  matter  that  exerts  the  force  ?  A 
recognition  of  both,  aVid  of  all  other  cometic 
properties,  is  essential  to  the  investigations 
of  phenomena  relating  to  them. 

In  the  formation  of  comets  the  atomic  matter 
repelling  or  being  repelled  by  that  which  enters 
into  planetary  nebulae,  unites  with  that  of  its 
kind,  forming  flocculi,  which,  assembling  in  space 
till  a  body  is  formed  of  such  size  as  to  be 
more  powerfully  attracted  by  the  sun  than  by 
the  smaller  bodies  around  it,  sets  out  on  its 
first  journey  of  millions,  it  may  be,  of  years 
to  take  its  place  in  the  cometary  world. 

We  can  best  estimate  the  length  of  the 
journey,  or  the  period  required  for  it,  by  re- 
ferring to  astronomer  R.  A.  Proctor's  works. * 
He  estimates  the  time  required  for  the  passage 
of  a  comet  from  aCentauri,  the  nearest  star, 
so  far  as  is  known,  to  our  sun,  to  be  nearly 
eight  millions  of  years.  The  star  being  reported 

*' 'Expanse  of  Heaven."    Note,  p.  135. 


78  Comets. 

much  the  larger  body,  he  assigned  to  it  two- 
thirds  of  the  distance  from  the  border  between  ; 
and  to  pur  sun,  the  smaller  body,  one-third  of 
the  distance.  Then  he  found  the  time  for  the 
journey  from  the  nearest  border  to  our  sun  to 
be  three  millions  and  tw0  hundred  and  seventy - 
five  thousand  years.  By  that  estimate,  if  a 
€omet  in  its  outward  flight  from  the  sun,  should 
fail,  by  a  few  miles,  to  pass  the  border  its 
return  would  require  an  equal  interval,  the 
entire  period  of  one  revolution  being  six  millions 
five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  years.  So  long 
to  the  nearest  border.  The  planes  of  the  orbits 
of  nearly  all  the  comets  lie  in  the  directions 
of  the  most  distant  borders,  as  will  be  seen 
farther  on,  hence  their  periods  would  be  much 
longer. 

O 

According  to  the  astronomer's  estimate,  the 
first  approach  to  the  sun,  of  comets  formed  by 
the  nearest  borders,  must  occupy  more  than  three 
millions  of  years.  Those  from  the  farthest 
borders  would  occupy  several  millions  more. 

Comets  and  other  nebulae,  to  attain  the  largest 
size,  would  be  formed  on  the  border  of  the 
district,  or  near  it,  where  the  attractions  exist- 


Comets  Not  Star  Visitors.  79 

ing  there  would  be  nearly  equal  in  different 
directions,  and  when  turned  toward  their  main 
attraction  they  would  move  so  slowly  as  to  float 
far  from  the  border  before  they  could  be  said 
to  have  any  appreciable  impetus.  On  their 
return  from  the  sun  after  having  passed  around 
it,  they  cannot  possibly  have  acquired  additional 
impetus  to  carry  them  again  to  the  border  and 
beyond  it.  If  those  formed  on  the  border  fail 
to  reach  it  again,  so  must  those  formed  farther 
within  the  district. 

A  flight  from  the  sun  could  never  exceed 
one  of  the  same  body  toward  it,  and  must 
always  proceed  from  the  distance  of  the  forma- 
tion of  a  body  within  the  border.  For  similar 
reasons  it  may  be  assumed  that  in  no  other 
system  can  comets,  by  known  laws,  acquire  the 
velocity  required  to  send  them  beyond  their 
borders  into  our  system. 

We  have  no  warrant  to  assume  that  other 
world  systems  have  greater  projectile  forces 
than  ours ;  nor  that  their  comets  can  by  other 
means  gain  additional  velocity  sufficient  to  carry 
them  beyond  their  borders. 

As     many     readers    are     unfamiliar     with     the 


80  Comets. 

examinations  of  mysteries  here  discussed,  a  more 
amplified  statement  may  be  acceptable.  A  bare 
statement  of  the  case  would  fail  to  impress 
upon  the  average  mind  evidence  of  the  utter 
impossibility  of  the  migration  of  a  comet  from 
the  system  in  which  it  is  formed.  Assuming 
comets  to  be  star  visitors — that  their  origin 

O 

being  in  some  distant  part  of  the  universe  the 
process  of  their  formation  is  a  mystery  impen*- 
etrable  to  the  mind  of  man,  is  a  position  suit- 
able for  past  ages  in  which  to  use  the  power  of 
reason  in  investigations  of  mysteries  was  deemed 
sacrilegious  and  fit  for  anathema. 

The  hypothesis  that  all  material  forms  have 
their  origin  in  primordial  matter  having  in 
recent  years  found  more  and  more  favorable 
acceptance  by  thinking  minds,  there  may  be  a 
willingness  to  patiently  join  in  an  investigation 
of  the  genesis  of  a  comet  by  a  similar  process. 

Near  a  border  of  the  farthest  regions,  but 
within  our  district,  say  fifteen  millions  of  mill- 
ions of  miles  distant  a  great  nebula  has  long 
been  forming  of  the  union  of  vast  numbers  of 
the  flocculi,  or  clouds  of  cometic  substance  that 
repels  all  solid  matter,  but  unites  with  its  kind. 


Formation  and  Movement  of  Comets..      81 

first  in  minute  clouds,  then  in  larger  nebulae, 
an  aggregation  of  which  forms  a  comet.  In 
that  distant  region  so  near  a  border  between 
systems,  there  is  very  nearly  a  balance  of  solar 
attractions.  The  comet  remains,  while  forming, 
and  till  it  attains  to  a  size  worthy  of  its  name, 
nearly  stationary,  or  floats  hither  and  thither  im- 
perceptibly, jostled  or  crowded  betimes  by  neb- 
ulae destined  for  forming  heavier  bodies.  Its 
slow  progress  is,  on  the  whole,  toward  the  cen- 
ter of  the  system.  During  a  million  of  years 
it  may  have  floated  a  million  of  millions  of 
miles  from  the  border  with  so  little  motion  that 
it  could  not  confidently  be  said  to  have  started 
on  its  journey  to  the  vicinity  of  the  sun.  Dur- 
ing the  next  million  of-  years  it  may  have  moved 
twice  as  far  and  be  said,  at  its  expiration,  to 
have  a  regular,  though  very  slow,  motion. 

In  another  million  of  years,  with  more  than 
doubly  increased  motion,  it  may  have  reached  the 
half-way  point  of  its  journey  toward  the  sun. 

During  the  next  million  of  years  it  will  have 
reached  Hs  perihelion  curve  and  started  on  its 
return  toward  its  native  region.  Who  will  es- 
timate the  return  journey  to  measure  half  the 
—6 


82  Comets. 

distance  to  the  border?  It  could  not  possibly 
cover  the  distance  in  which  it  merely  floated 
during  its  first  two  millions  of  years.  The  comet 
must  fail  to  cover  at  least  the  first  one-fifth, 
and  probably  one-half  of  its  journey  sunward. 

In  this  illustration  distances  and  intervals  may 
be,  and  probably  are,  far  from  correct;  but  the 
trend  of  the  argument  is  indisputable  that  every 
nebula  must  float  while  forming,  and  still  longer 
through  a  great  distance  from  the  border,  with 
so  little  motion  that  the  impetus  necessary  to 
traverse  the  region  again  on  the  return  toward 
the  border  would  not  be  acquired.  The  same 
will  hold  true  in  all  systems  in  which  there  is 
the  same  process  of  formation  from  primordial 
matter.  As  there  is  no  evidence  nor  appearance 
of  any  exception,  it  may  be  presumed  that  from 
no  system  can  comets  be  said  to  proceed  to  oth- 
ers by  any  means  or  process  yet  discovered. 
Is  it  not,  therefore,  reasonable  to  assume  that 
they  are  all  formed  in  the  space  pertaining  to 
our  solar  system? 

We  cannot  doubt  that  small  nebulae  are  formed 
in  great  numbers.  Comets  are  nebulas,  often  of 
large  size,  for  the  forming  of  which  it  cannot 


Our  District  Maintains  All  Its  Comets.      83 

be  said  that  anything  is  wanting.  As  materials 
were  abundant  for  the  construction  of  all  the 
worlds  in  the  system,  doubtless  they  were  also 
abundant  for  the  formation  of  all  the  comets. 

That  substances  so  heterogeneous  as  those  from 
which  wrorlds  and  comets  are  formed  should  be 
found  in  the  same  regions,  and  gathered  into 
orbs  mutually  repulsive  may  be  parallelled  by 
analogies  of  familiar  character,  and  quite  as 
mysterious  both  in  the  matter,  and  in  the  pro- 
cess of  formation.  From  the  same  food,  liquid, 
and  air,  we  have  bones,  muscles,  nerves,  hair, 
nails,  teeth,  and  blood.  Out  of  the  same  soil 
grow  healthful  and  poisonous  plants.  In  a  thor- 
ough acquaintance  with  our  solar  system  and  its 
capacities  we  may  expect  to  find  it  fully  com- 
petent to  produce  and  maintain  its  cometary,  as 
well  as  its  planetary  family.  Within  it  may  be 
found,  with  all  the  elements  required,  ample 
space  and  materials  with  their  properties  for  ex- 
planation of  all  the  phenomena  pertaining  to  the 
formation  and  movements  of  comets,  as  there  is 
also,  fcfter  their  disintegration,  room  and  use  in 
the  sun's  corona  for  all  the  cometic  matter  of 
which  they  are  composed. 


84  Comets. 

The  following  from  a  "Popular  Astronomy"* 
gives  the  process  by  which  conclusions  have 
been  reached  by  which  comets  are  said  to  leave 
our  solar  system  never  to  return: 

' '  If  the  velocity  of  a  comet  exceeds  twenty- 
six  miles  a  second  at  that  point  of  its  orbit 
which  is  ninety- two  and  one-half  millions  of 
miles  from  the  sun,  then  the  comet  must  go 
off  into  infinite  space,  never  to  return  to  our 
system.  But  with  a  less  velocity  the  comet  must 
be  brought  back  by  the  sun's  attraction  at  some 
future  time,  the  time  being  longer  the  more 
nearly  the  velocity  reaches  twenty-six  miles  a 
second.  It  is  by  the  velocity  that  the  astron- 
omer must,  in  general,  determine  the  form  of 
the  orbit.  If  it  corresponds  exactly  to  the  cal- 
culated limit,  the  orbit  is  a  parabola;  if  it  ex- 
ceeds this  limit,  it  is  a  hyperbola;  if  not  it  is 
an  ellipse.  In  the  large  majority  of  comets  the 
velocity  is  so  near  the  parabolic  limit,  that  it 
is  not  possible  to  decide,  from  observations, 
whether  it  falls  short  of  it  or  exceeds  it.  In 
the  case  of  a  few  comets,  the  observations  in- 
dicate an  excess  of  velocity,  but  an  excess  so 
minute  that  its  reality  cannot  be  confidently  as- 
serted. It  cannot,  therefore,  be  said  with  certainty 
that  any  known  comet  revolves  in  a  hyperbolic 
orbit,  and  thus  it  is  possible  that  all  comets 
belong  to  our  system,  and  will  ultimately  re- 
turn to  it.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  in  the 
majority  of  cases  the  return  will  be  delayed 
many  centuries." 

*Newcomb's,  p.  373. 


No  Perplexing'  Visitant  Comets.  85 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  other  pro- 
jectile force  that  can  give  a  comet  greater 
velocity  than  it  acquires  in  its  passage  to  the 
sun  from  the  distant  regions  where  it  is  formed, 
and  this  assertion  applies  to  all  other  systems 
as  well  as  our  own.  Especially  will  that  appear 
when  it  shall  be  shown  more  clearly  farther 
on  that  some  of  those  regions  extend  about  as 
far  away  as  are  the  neighboring  stars  Comets 
forming  at  such  distances  would  acquire  greater 
velocity  than  any  would  have  that  should  come 
from  other  stars  over  the  nearest  borders. 
When  it  is  conceded  that  all  the  comets  in  the 
solar  system  were  formed  within  it,  and  must 
remain  in  it,  there  will  no  longer  be  con- 
jectures of  parabolic  and  hyperbolic  orbits,  for 
all  will  be  regarded  as  being  indisputably  ellip- 
tical. There  will  no  longer  be  occasion  for 
perplexing  conjectures  of  star  visitant  comets, 
and  more  satisfactory  results  of  investigations 
may  be  expected.  Investigators  may  follow  up 
their  observations  more  thoroughly  when  imag- 
inary star  visitants  can  no  longer  serve  as 
scapegoats  of  apparent  impenetrabilities. 

In    a    discussion    of    the    peculiar   properties    of 


86  Comets. 

comets,  close  attention  should  be  given  to  the 
repulsion  manifested  in  their  first  approach  to 
the  sun,  which  must  be  as  direct  as  that  of 
any  other  body  till  they  come  within  a  dis- 
tance from  it  in  which  repulsion  takes  ef- 
fect, and  exhibits  its  power  by  which  comets 
are  diverted  out  of  their  course  farther  than 
half  the  diameter  of  the  sun,  or  nearly  a  half 
million  of  miles.  Then  the  invincible  obstinacy 
of  repulsion  must  be  evident  in  the  abrupt  turn 
made  when  the  direct  approach  of  a  comet 
brings  it  so  near  the  sun  that  the  turn  when 
made  will  apparently  /  be  a  sharp  curve.  It  will 
be  seen  farther  on  that  the  distance  to  which 
the  power  of  repulsion  extends  appears  to  have 
a  somewhat  definite  limit.  The  narrower  the 
limit  is,  the  sharper  will  be  the  turn  after  the 
comet's  repulsion  begins  to  resist  a  farther 
approach  to  the  sun.  If  the  sphere  of  distance 
in  which  repulsion  takes  effect  has  much  depth, 
the  turn  it  gives  a  comet  would  be  less  abrupt. 
The  mass  of  a  comet  being  inconsiderable,  offers 
but  little  resistance  to  an  abrupt  turn. 

Only    comets     from     the     central    zone    would 
approach    the   center    of    the     sun     directly.     One 


Divers  Cometic  Properties,  87 

coming  from  the  polar  regions,  being  deflected 
from  the  axis  of  the  district  by  centrifugal 
force  during  its  long  journey,  would  approach 
the  sun  in  a  slanting  direction.  The  turn  made 
when  diverted  from  the  sun  by  repulsion  in 
the  comet  would  therefore  be  less  abrupt. 

While  in  the  matter  of  some  aerolites,  follow- 
ing its  own  affinities  in  assembling,  iron  pre- 
dominates ;  in  that  of  others  the  materials  are 
much  lighter,  and  crumble  to  dust  under  in- 
tense heat,  so  cometic  matter  throughout  the 
same  regions  of  space  in  which  aerolites  are 
formed  has  its  peculiar  properties  that  combine 
in  divers  proportions  in  the  formation  of  comets, 
giving  them  various  degrees  of  what  has  been 
termed  cometic  properties,  unknown  properties 
that  affect  not  only  their  movements,  but  their 
wonderful  influence  upon  light. 

Comets  have,  apparently,  in  no  sense  the 
stability,  nor  the  endurance  of  planets.  Several 
of  them  are  known  to  have  been  swerved  from 
the  course  of  their  orbits  by  the  attraction  of 
planets.  Many  of  them  have  orbits  that  must  have 
been  greatly  changed  since  the  time  of  their 
first  revolution  around  the  sun. 


88  Comets, 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  comet's  first 
perihelion  distance  from  the  sun  being  very 
great.  Its  first  approach  must  be  very  direct. 
It  is  not  according  to  any  analogy  that  a  body 
attracted  by  the  sun  from  a  great  distance 
should  approach  directly  a  point  at  a  distance, 
either  great  or  small,  to  one  side  of  it.  But 
when  swerved  from  contact  with  the  sun  by  the 
law  of  repulsion  in  its  matter,  its  perihelion 
curve  must  be  a  close  one.  Then  with'  successive 
revolutions  its  orbits  become  wider,  and,  with 
old  agey  shorter.  Repulsion,  in  force  near  the 
sun,  may  have  the  effect  to  increase  the  distance 
during  several  revolutions. 

A  feature  that  we  need  to  recognize  of  the 
mysterious  life  and  destiny  of  comets  is  that 
they  wear  out.  An  instance  is  given  with  some 
minuteness  of  the  dissolution  of  a  comet,  and 
its  separation,  by  repulsion,  into  meteoroids,  as 
follows  : 

"I  have  already  described  Biela's  comet  as 
first  breaking  into  two  pieces,  and  then  entirely 
disappearing,  as  though  its  parts  had  become 
completely  scattered.  *  There  was  every 

reason   to    believe  that   the  earth  would  encounter 
a  stream  of    meteoroids  consisting  of   the  remains 


Dissolution  of  Comets.  89 

of  the  lost  comet,  and  that  a  small  meteoric 
shower  would  be  the  result.  The  prediction 
was  fully  verified  in  every  respect.  '  That  the 
meteoroids  originally  belonged  to  the  comet, 
few  will  dispute.  They  will,  in  the 

course  of  many  revolutions,  gradually  scatter 
themselves  around  the  entire  orbit.  "* 

The  meteoric  shower  occurred  on  the  twenty - 
seventh  of  November.  The  discovery  had  been 
made  that  the  meteoric  stream  encountered  on 
the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  of  November,  about 
every  thirty-third  year  developing  a  brilliant 
shower  of  meteors,  had  TempePs  comet  in  its 
train.  Then  it  was  discovered  that  the  stream 
producing  the  August  shower  of  meteors  also 
had  a  comet  in  its  train — Tuttle's.  It  is  now 
also  known  that  a  swarm  giving  the  April  shower 
has  an  attendant  comet. 

It  appears  from  all  these,  and  some  other 
known  instances,  that  meteoric  streams  and  swarms 
are  only  the  remains  of  comets  that  have  run 
their  course  as  such,  and  having  disintegrated, 
have  developed,  by  repulsion  into  streams  of 
scattered  meteors. 

It  would  appear  that  the  powers  of  gravita- 
*Newcomb's  "  Popular  Astronomy;1'  p.  346. 


90  Comets. 

tion  and  repulsion  are  nearly  balanced  in  the 
substance  of  a  comet.  The  former  prevails  in 
the  formation  of  a  comet,  but  by  its  relative 
decrease,  or  the  increase  of  the  power  of  re- 
pulsion, the  latter  prevails  in  the  old  age  of  a 
comet.  What  but  the  relative  increase  of  the 
power  of  repulsion  could  cause  the  division  of 
Biela's  comet  into  two  parts, — its  subsequent 
disintegration  into  diminutive  meteoroids,  and 
the  scattering  of  them  along  the  path  of  the 
comet's  orbit  till  u  they  will,  in  the  course  of 
many  revolutions,  gradually  scatter  themselves 
around  the  entire  orbit." 

Having  these  and  other  evidences,  the  con- 
clusion is  unavoidable  that  repulsion  is  a  prop- 
erty of  cometic  matter  inherent  in  it.  It  may 
be  found  that  its  substance  never  becomes  solid 
like  planetary  matter. 

Is  it  possible  to  conceive  of  any  other  power 
than  repulsion  that  holds  the  substance  of  the 
corona — supposably  meteoroids  that  have  been 
attracted  to  the  vicinity  of  the  sun,  to  the  lim- 
ited distance  of  the  corona  from  it;  that  diverts 
comets  from  their  direct  course  on  their  first  ap- 
proach to  the  sun  causing  them  to  pass  around 


Repulsion  Emphasized.  91 

it  instead  of  coming  in  contact  with  it;  and 
that  finally  causes  the  meteoroids  of  which  com- 
ets are  composed  to  leave  the  bodies  of  the 
comets  and  scatter  in  streams  farther  and  farther 
from  each  other  till  they  span  the  entire  orbits 
in  which  they  move. 

The  power  seems  to  be  inherent  in  cometic 
matter  in  all  its  forms;  in  the  meteoroids  of  the 
corona  to  withhold  them  from  the  sun,  and  in 
comets  to  resist,  at  a  certain  distance  from  the 
sun,  its  powerful  attraction,  causing  them  to 
take  a  sharp  turn  in  which  the  two  powers  in 
conflict  combine  to  hold  them  a  certain  distance 
from  the  sun  during  their  perihelion  course. 

The  supposed  sharp  ,  turn  made  on  reaching 
their  perihelion  distance  arrests  attention  as  be- 
ing a  strange  and  astonishing  phenomenon,  the 
account  of  which  is  liable  to  discredit  if  it  can 
be  controverted.  But  if  it  must  be  sanctioned, 
it  will  shed  new  light,  not  only  on  the  move- 
ments, but  on  the  imponderable  and  indestructi- 
ble character  of  those  anomalous  bodies. 

' '  % 

The  position,  and  the  distance  to  which  com- 
etic matter  in  the  corona  is  withheld  from  the 
sun  by  repulsion  inherent  in  that  singular  mat- 


i)2  Comets. 

ter  seems  to  indicate  a  definite  limit  to  which 
its  repulsion  extends.  On  recognizing  the  posi- 
tion, it  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  extension  of 
the  limit  to  a  great  thickness  in  which  repul- 
sion would  begin  to  swerve  a  comet  from  its 
course  before  reaching  a  definite  limit  indicated 
in  the  corona.  Hence  the  turn  of  a  comet  at 
or  near  that  limit  must  be  a  very  sharp  one, 
however  slanting  may  be  its  first  approach  to 
the  sun's  vicinity.  It  would  suggest  that  a 
comet  is  about  as  imponderable  and  as  easily 
diverted  from  its  course  as  smoke,  which  is  quite 
conceivable,  as  stars  are  easily  discerned  through 
the  full  thickness  of  large  comets. 

It  is  possible  that  in  the  end  repulsion  will 
prevail  in  the  minute  meteoroids,  and  that  they 
will  disintegrate  into  primordial  matter,  and  be 
diffused  in  the  regions  of  space  from  which  they 
were  assembled. 

More  than  one  hundred  swarms  are  now  rec- 
ognized/* of  which  it  may  be  supposed,  as  they 
have  no  other  known  origin,  that  they  are  the 
remains  of  so  many  comets.  Having  evidence 
of  the  changes  by  which  one,  Biela's,  was  be- 

*Young's  "  General'  Astronomy,"  p.  445. 


Co  wets  Continually  Forming.  93 

ing  transformed  into  a  swarm  of  meteors,  and 
seeing  several  others  undergoing  the  same  pro- 
cess, it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  other  similar 
swarms  have  come  to  their  condition  by  the 
same  process. 

The  swarms  that  are  now  recognized  are  only 
those  whose  orbits  cross  the  earth's  orbit,  for 
only  by  a  meeting  of  the  bodies  in  the  inter- 
section of  the  orbits  can  a  swarm  be  found.  It 
is  improbable  that  the  earth's  orbit  intersects 
one-thousandth  part  of  the  orbits  of  the  meteor' 
swarms  in  the  solar  system.  If  that  be  true 
the  number  of  them  must  be  over  one  hundred 
thousand.  If  so  many  comets  have  passed  into 
the  swarm  or  stream  form,  it  denotes  great  and 
and  continued  activity  of  the  gravitating  force 
in  the  region  where  they  are  formed.  It  sig- 
nifies also  that  they  have  but  brief  existence 
compared  with  that  of  the  planets.  Several  gen- 
erations of  them  may  have  passed  away  in  the 
one  hundred  millions  of  years  that  it  is  claimed 
the  earth  has  existed.  What  though  a  comet's 
period  is  thousands  of  years,  or  one  hundred 
thousand  years  ?  One  hundred  such  revolutions 
would  measure  out  a  long  life  for  a  globe  of 


94  Comets. 

such  tenuity  of  substance,  but  only  a  small  part 
of  the  time  of  existence  of  planets.  Many  of 
the  groups  may  be  remnants  of  small  comets 
formed  in  the  nearer  regions,  therefore  sooner 
attracted  by  the  sun,  sooner  drawn  into  orbital 
service,  and  sooner  exhausted.  •  Disintegration  and 
passing  away  of  so  many  comets  implies  the 
probability  that  new  ones  are  forming,  as  well 
as  old  ones  failing. 

Comets  of  fiery  brilliancy  like  those  of  1843 
and  1882  may  be  in  their  first  revolution,  hav- 
ing been  formed  in  very  distant  parts  of  the 
sun's  domain,  and  destined  for  most  protracted 
periods. 

The  unaccountable  displays  of  light  accompany- 
ing the  flights  of  comets  suggests  the  presence 
in  them  of  peculiar  properties.  The  wonderful 
effects  produced  by  the  modifications  of  polar- 
ized light  in  connection  with  certain  substances, 
intimates  the  possibility  of  such  modification  of 
light  in  passing  through  a  comet  that  its  tail 
is  formed  by  the  peculiar  action  of  polarized, 
or  other  transformed  light,  on  the  ether  of 

o      / 

space.  The  possibility  becomes  a  strong  prob- 
ability in  the  case  of  comets  that  display  a 


Light  Modified  in  Comets.  95 

number  of  tails, — of  slender  extra  streamers,  or 
other  adornments, — of  forms  that  cannot  be  at- 
tributed to  movements  of  substances. 

Of  those  that  make  no  display  of  appendages, 
some  may  never  have  had  the  cometic  quality 
that  produces  it,  others,  through  the  deteriora- 
tion of  old  age,  may  have  lost  the  power  of 
transforming  light. 

That  light  should  be  so  wonderfully  affected 
in  permeating  the  bodies  of  comets  should  not 
seem  incredible  when  it  is  remembered  that  the 
sole  purpose  of  them,  so  far  as  is  known,  is 
display.  They  bear  the  same  pleasing  relation 
to  life-bearing  worlds  that  the  beauteous  flowers  of 
the  conservatory  bear  to  nourishing  products  of 
the  field.  They  apparently  exist  that  the  senses 
may  be  regaled  with  their  beauty,  and  the 
mind  uplifted  by  the  sublimity  of  the  marvellous 
power  and  skill  manifested  in  their  display. 

If  ether  of  space  has  sufficient  density  for  the 
transmission  of  light,  why  should  it  not  be  sus- 
ceptible of  the  display  upon  its  field  of  some 
modification  of  light,  a  suggestion  of  which  we 
have  in  the  display  of  the  beauteous  rainbow 
on  the  cerulean  canopy  of  the  sky.  The  sug- 


96  Comets. 

gestion  that  light  is  so  modified  has  the  excuse 
of  supplying  a  need — no  other  satisfactory  ex- 
planation of  the  phenomena  has  been  given. 
Light  only  is  capable  of  the  velocity  required 
to  account  for  the  aspects  of  comets  and  their 
appendages  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sun.  That  any 
vaporous  substance  of  a  comet  can  be  driven  out 
one  hundred  millions  of  miles  in  space,  expanded 
millions  of  miles  in  diameter,  and  with  that  ex-  • 
pansion  be  made  to  sweep  the  perihelion  curve 
in  two  hours,  the  tail  all  the  while  opposite 
from  the  sun,  is  inexplicable,  and  is  deemed  in- 
credible by  prominent  astronomers.  That  the 
substance  of  a  comet  can  be  driven  out  of  it  by 
the  sun's  heat,  or  that  it  is  affected  by  it  may 
be  subject  to  doubt. 

On  the  basis  that  the  tails  of  comets  are 
formed  by  the  transmission  of  light,  the 
center  of  the  tails  being  dark  in  some,  and 
brighter  than  the  sides  in  others,  is  susceptible 
of  explanation.  The  nucleus  in  some  comets 
may  be  impervious  to  light,  or  may  lack 
the  power  of  transmitting  it  equal  to  the 
sides,  thus  causing  darkness  of  the  center 
of  the  tail.  The  nucleus  in  other  comets 


Many  Comets  from  Polar  Regions.         97 


may  transmit,  or  transform  light  more 
fectly  than  the  sides,  or  better  adapt  the 
transformation  to  the  field  of  display,  causing 
a  brighter  illumination  of  the  center  of  the  taiL 
Though  marvellous  discoveries  in  the  modifi- 

o 

cation  of  life  by  art  have  been  made,  the 
capacity  of  comets  to  excel  the  limited  powers 
of  human  skill  by  the  transformation  of  light 
in  its  passage  through  them  may  well  be  deemed 
possible.  That  they  should  be  endowed  with  an 
aptitude  for  transcendent  displays  is  highly  prob^ 
able,  for  such  is  apparently  the  purpose  of 
their  .existence.  Doubtless  such  aptitude  is  due 
to  the  peculiar  quality  of  their  substance,  both 
substance  and  quality  being  unknown.  They 
will  probably  remain  unknown.  Unlike  and  dis- 
tinct from  any  other,  the  substance  can  neither 
be  captured  for  examination,  nor  imitated  for 
experiment. 

The  assumption  in  the  preceding  chapter,  that 
a  large  amount  of  meteoric  supplies  is  still 
furnished  from  the  polar  regions  of  space  for 
the  continued  sustentation  of  the  sun  has  cor- 
roberative  support  in  the  fact  that  the  supply 
of  comets  from  the  same  regions  is  also  very 


98  Comets. 

abundant.  The  list  of  recorded  comets  up  to  1855 
shows  by  the  positions  of  their  orbital  planes 
that  they  are  eleven  and  one-half  times  more 
abundant  in  the  ten  degrees  about  the  poles 
than  in  equal  areas  near  the  plane  of  the 
ecliptic.  The  zones  of  forty  degrees  radius 
about  the  poles  of  the  ecliptic  produce  in  the 
proportion  of  22.78  to  3.88  in  like  areas  in 
the  zone  of  forty  degrees  from  the  planes. 
Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  who  compiled  this  state- 
ment, adds  : 

'•That  comets  are  more  abundant  about  the 
axis  of  the  solar  system,  and  grow  rarer  as 
they  approach  its  plane,  implies  that  the  gene- 
sis of  comets  has  followed  some  law — a  law  in 
some  way  concerned  with  the  genesis  of  the 
solar  system."* 

The  law  to  which  he  referred  without  dis- 
cerning it,  is  that  of  supplies  drawn  simulta- 
neously from  the  same  regions  for  the  formation 
of  the  comets,  and  for  the  other  bodies  of  the 
solar  system.  Doubtless  at  the  beginning  the 
supplies  were  uniform  from  all  directions,  but 
having  become  almost  exhausted  in  the  narrower 
limits  in  the  direction  of  the  plane  of  the 

*"  Universal  Progress." 


Sun  Supplies  from  Polar  Regions.          99 

ecliptic,  while  they  are  still  abundant  in  the 
more  extended  polar  regions,  the  disproportion 
of  comets  furnished  from  the  two  compared 
regions  is  very  great.  But  the  comparison 
made  relates  to  the  supply  for  long  past  time, 
from  that  when  the  quotas  furnished  were  more 
uniformly  full  from  every  direction,  down 
to  recent  time  when  the  regions  near  the  plane 
furnish  but  a  small  amount,  and  the  extended 
regions  about  the  axis  still  furnish  abundant 
supplies.  Probably  the  proportion  of  new  com- 
ets appearing  at  the  present  time  from  the 
regions  near  the  plane  are  still  farther  dimin- 
ished, possibly  down  to  one  to  thirty  from  the 
regions  of  the  poles.  On  the  basis  that  comets 
are  star  visitants  an  explanation  of  the  propor- 
tions furnished  by  the  different  regions  might 
be  difficult, — so  difficult  as  to  disclose  the  error 
of  such  basis. 

A  paramount  interest  in  the  fact  that  the 
supplies  of  the  comets  are  so  "much  more 
abundant  from  the  regions  of  the  poles  lies  in 
the  probability  that  the  apparently  more  useful 
supplies  of  meteoric  matter  for  sustaining  the 
sun  are  drawn  in  like  manner  and  proportions 


100  Cornets. 

from  the  same  regions.  Although  in  neither 
case  can  the  amounts  furnished  be  measured, 
we  may  Avell  estimate  the  meteoric  matter  for 
the  sun  to  be  furnished  in  much  larger  pro- 
portions in  the  polar  regions  than  near  the 
plane  of  the  ecliptic,  as  is  the  case  with 
comets.  Now  it  is  well  known  that  the  amount 
of  nourishment  for  the  sun  drawn  from  the 
direction  of  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic  is  very 
small,  and  that  at  that  rate  the  entire  amount 
furnished  from  all  directions  would  be  clearly 
inadequate. 

Fifty  times  as  much,  which  there  may  ber 
poured  in  from  the  polar  regions  upon  the  broad 
zones  around  the  axis  of  the  sun  would  proba- 
bly not  be  an  extravagant  amount.  Thus  we 
may  gather  important  information  from  the  source 
of  supplies  of  comets  in  support  of  a  reasona- 
ble basis  for  a  belief  that  the  sun's  radiant  en- 
ergy has  long  been  sustained  by  meteoric  sup- 
plies showered  down  from  the  same  polar  re- 
gions of  its  district. 

With  the  acceptance  of  the  belief  that  the  dis- 
trict in  space  pertaining  to  the  solar  system  is 
elongated  in  the  direction  of  the  sun's  path 


Why  District  is  Elongated.  101 

through  space  will  soon  appear  the  reasons  why 
it  should  be  so  accepted.  Apparent  reasons  may 
be  given  as  follows: 

(a)  Elongated    to    supply    material    for    a    pro- 
longed   life    of   the    sun. 

(b)  Limited    in    the    direction    of    the    shortest 
diameter,   that   the  middle  portion  of  the  district, 
the    planetary    section,    might    be    first    exhausted 
of    its    cosmical    dust. 

(<?)  Districts  of  other  systems  surrounding  it 
and  confining  it  laterally  would  impart  to  it 
their  own  rotary  motion,  giving  course  to  the 
invariable  plane  of  its  planetary  orbits  in  the 
direction  of  its  shortest  diameter. 

(d)  The  sun  would  then  be  in  position  to  be 
fed  and  nourished  from  the  regions  pertaining 
to  its  polar  zones,  while  peopled  planets  in  the 
zone  of  the  exhausted  section  would  enjoy  im- 
munity from  exposure  to  showers  of  falling,  me- 
teorites. 

Now,  having  discussed  various  cometary  pecu- 
liarities at  some  length,  and  by  acquaintance 
with  them  prepared  our  minds  for  a  clearer 
scrutiny  of  them,  let  us  investigate  farther  the 
peculiar  properties  of  cornetic  matter.  If  some 


102  Comets. 

repetition  is  found,  it  may  be  best  so.  Some 
suggestions  pertain  to  novel  explanations  of 
mysteries  that  will  bear  repetition.  A  single 
perusal  will  not  suffice  to  master  them. 

Unlike  any  other  body,  a  comet,  on  being  at- 
tracted toward  the  sun,  goes  not  to  it  but  past  it. 
Still  unlike  others,  having  ^passed  it  by,  it 
clings  as  if  it  could  not  leave  it,  but  fails 
not  to  depart  soon  enough  to  form  a  closed 
orbit.  Why  should  it  encircle  the  sun  so  far 
and  no  farther  ?  Can  it  be  doubted  that  the 
strange  cometic  property  is  the  mediun  of  re- 
sistance, and  that  it  is  gauged  to  yield  to  the 
sun's  attraction  to  a  certain  extent,  and  no 
farther  ? 

There  is  no  escape  from  the  conclusion  that 
cometary  matter  is  controlled  by  unknown  laws, 
and  that  it  has  properties  distinguishing  it  from 
all  other  known  substances.  While  gravity  con- 
trols it  at  a  distance,  there  is  a  stubborn  re- 
pulsion that  resists  actual  contact.  If  we  rec- 
ognize in  those  wonderful  bodies  that  singular 
property,  we  can  easily  attribute  to  the  atomic 
substances  of  which  they  are  composed  the  same 
qualities,  which  also  prevent  its  union  with  other 


Comet  ary  Matter  Indestructible.          103 

matter  of  which  the  worlds  are  formed,  and 
by  which  the  sun  is  sustained. 

That  the  substance  of  comets  is  of  a  nature 
quite  different — altogether  distinct  from  that  of 
aerolites  is  clearly  evident  from  their  being  in- 
destructible by  the  fiercest  heat  of  the  sun.  A 
body  of  solid  matter  equal  in  mass  to  that  of 
an  average  comet,  passing,  to  the  sun,  would 
be  partially  or  entirely  volatilized  by  the  sun's 
heat  before  reaching  it. 

A  comet,  approaching  the  sun,  sweeps  around 
it,  and  * i  through,  at  least,  three  hundred  thou- 
sand miles  of  its  corona,"  still  subject  to  its 
intense  heat  while  leaving  it,  * '  and  coming  out 
without  having  suffered  any  visible  damage." 
Had  the  comet  contained  any  fraction  of  mat- 
ter similar  to  that  of  aerolites,  would  it  not 
have  been  volatilized  and  driven  out  by  the  sun's 
heat  ?  Whatever  the  answer,  there  remains  the 
body  of  the  comet  indestructible  by  heat 
that  would  disperse  any  other  known  sub- 
stances,— as  distinct  from  heavier  bodies  as  is 
the  spirit  of  man  from  his  body  of  flesh. 
Only  after  the  cometic  property  is  some- 
what deteriorated,  and  the  comet  is  worn 


104  Comets. 

out  by  old  age,  when  it  reaches  its  des- 
tiny in  division  and  disintegration,  then  its 
substance  in  the  resulting  meteoroids  has  been 
supposed  to  yield  to  combustion  and  disper- 
sion in  the  earth's  atmosphere.  As  no  solid 
matter  is  deemed  capable  of  withstanding  the 
intense  heat  of  the  sun  when  nearly  in  con- 
tact with  it,  it  is  improbable  that  any  part  of 
a  comet  is  ever  solid. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  denote 
a  probability  that  large  numbers  of  meteoroids 
and  other  larger  remains  of  comets  have  settled 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  sun,  and  being  withheld 
by  the  power  of  repulsion  from  resting  upon, 
or  being  absorbed  by  it,  have  formed  .an  en- 
velop around  it  of  incombustible  cometic  mat- 
ter of  considerable  thickness  constituting  what 
is  recognized  as  the  corona.  Being  to  a  high 
degree  luminous,  accounts  for  its  brilliancy. 
Meteoroids  tumbled  together  as  loosely  as  a 
heap  of  downy  feathers,  would  not  blend, 
being  mutually  repellant,  but  being  easily  ag- 
gitated,  they  may  be  raised  by  every  ex- 
citing cause  into  brilliant  corruscations,  tinged 
'by  the  variegated  coloring  of  the  meteor- 


Meteoroids  Incombustible.  105 

oids.  The  question  Avill  arise, — if  the  me- 
teoroids  in  the  mass  enveloping  the  sun  are 
incombustible,  how  can  those  burn  out  that 
appear  in  our  atmosphere  ?  It  may  not  be 
true  that  cometic  meteoroids  that  appear 
luminous  in  the  sky  are  destroyed  by 
combustion.  Their  luminosity  may  arise  from 
veiy  rapid  motion  in  the  atmosphere,  and 
disappear  with  retarded  motion,  in  which 
case  they  would  be  removed  from  connection 
with  the  earth  by  repulsion  uninjured,  resting 
finally  in  a  position  related  to  the  earth  as  the 
sun's  corona  is  to  the  sun. 

It  is  not  supposable  that  the  cometic  matter 
of  meteoroids  which  can  pass  uninjured  by  heat 
through  three  hundred  thousand  miles  of  the 

O 

sun's  corona  would  be  consumed  by  heat  pro- 
duced by  passage  of  a  few  miles  through  an 
attenuated  portion  of  the  earth's  atmosphere. 

The  proposition  attributing  the  corona  of  the 
sun  to  an  accumulation  of  comet  matter  result- 
ing from  the  disintegration  of  comets  into  me- 
teroids,  and  their  subsequent  settling  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  sun,  invites  investigation.  The 
immensity  of  an  envelop  that  can  encompass  the 


106       *  Comets. 

sun  at  some  distance  away  from  it,  with  such 
thickness  of  luminous  matter  as  to  be  observa- 
ble from  the  earth,  may  well,  at  first  thought, 
raise  a  question  of  the  sufficiency  of  the  amount 
of  cometic  matter  in  existence  for  so  vast  an 
envelop.  Doubtless  the  assembling  of  cometic 
matter  from  cosmical  dust  into  nebula?,  or  com- 
ets, began  simultaneously  with  that  which  en- 
tered into  the  great  nebula  for  the  formation 
of  the  heavier  bodies  of  the  solar  system,  and 
has  never  ceased. 

Whether  the  earliest  formed  comets  revolved 
around  the  great  nebula,  or  to  whatever  posi- 
tion they  may  have  settled,  their  repulsion 
would  preserve  them  from  commingling  with 
other  matter,  or  being  lost  in  it.  All  that 
settled  to  the  vicinity  of  the  sun  would  gather 
into  the  envelop  known  as  the  corona.  Great 
as  is  the  amount,  it  is  insignificant  when  com- 
pared with  the  body  of  the  sun.  Recently, 
some  observers  of  eclipses  of  the  sun  have  re- 
ported that  the  corona  appeared  to  be  com- 
posed of  meteoroids,  but  if  its  component  mat- 
ter has  been  unknown,  so  also  its  practical 
utility  may  not  have  been  discovered.  If  it 


Practical  Utility  of  Cometic  Matter.      107 

consists    of    cometic  matter,   benefits  derived  from 
it   may    be    easily    conjectured. 

Comets  are  said  to  modify  the  light  inter- 
cepted by  them,  and,  in  some  cases  to 
polarize  it.  Then  the  cometic  matter  of  the 
corona  may  be  of  the  utmost  practical  util- 
ity in  modifying  the  crude  light  of  the 
sun,  and  adapting  it  to  the  comfort  and 
enjoyment,  and  even  to  the  material  neces- 
sities of  mankind.  Possibly,  were  there  na 
corona,  light  would  not  be  decomposable. 
The  amount  of  cometic  matter  in  the  corona 
may  not  have  been  quite  sufficient,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  plane  of  the  earth's  orbit,  to  give 
it  that  effect  upon  light  before  the  time  of 
setting  the  rainbow  in  the  cloud,  but,  by  de- 
signed coincidence,  became  sufficient  at  that  time 
for  the  purpose  of  the  display.  The  ring  neb- 
ula of  the  sun  may  have  become  more  rare  in 
the  planetary  zone,  permitting  a.  greater  thick- 
ness of  the  corona  in  it,  where  repulsion  be- 
tween cometic  matter  and  the  nebula  had  kept 
it  back. 

The  modification  of  light  by  its  passage  through 
the  corona  may  be  essential    for    its    use    in    pho- 


108  Comets. 

tography,  and  in  the  spectrum,  as  well  as  for 
its  chemical,  and  heat  bearing  properties.  Man 
may  never  know  how  much  he  is  indebted  to 
the  corona  for  the  many  benefits  of  sunlight, 
not  having,  for  comparison,  light  in  its  crude, 
unmodified  state. 

It  may  lie  found  that  the  practical  and  in- 
dispensable use  of  cometic  matter  is  in  the 
corona,  and  that  in  the  preparation  of  it  for 
that  purpose,  its  appearance  in  wonderful  comets, 
and  beautiful  meteoroids,  are  but  incidental  dis- 
plays of  it  for  man's  entertainment  while  on 
its  way  to  its  real  sphere  of  usefulness  in  the 
sun's  corona.  This  hypothesis  of  the  cometic 
corona  has  resulted  from  tracing  out  the  final 
disposition  of  the  indestructible  meteoroids. 
Being  ponderable,  they  must  gravitate  toward 
the  sun,  but  their  repulsion  would  keep  them 
from  it  at  a  distance  limited  by  the  extent  of 
its  power.  There  they  finally  settle  in  a  region 
of  equilibrium.  The  existence  of  the  corona 
indicates  their  position  and  their  usefulness. 

As  it  is  generally  conceded,  or  is  rapidly 
gaining  credence,  that  the  great  nebula  from 
which  the  sun  and  planets  were  formed  had  its 


Aerolites  and  Comets  from  Same  Regions.  109 

origin  in  the  regions  of  space  around  it,  so  it 
is  most  reasonable  to  maintain  that  the  comets 
also  have  their  origin  in  the  same  regions. 

It  will  farther  readily  be  conceived  that  the 
formation  of  comets  from  the  matter  peculiar 
to  them  can  proceed  simultaneously  with  the 
gathering  of  matter  for  other  worlds  in  the 
same  regions.  It  is  well  known  that  aerolites, 
all  having  in  their  composition,  in  part,  the 
same  substances,  have  them  in  various  propor- 
tions, and  are,  in  appearance  ».nd  reality,  very 
unlike ;  so  the  peculiar  cometic  properties  of 
matter  may  vary  in  intensity  in  different  com- 
ets, notwithstanding  that  they  have  a  common 
origin.  To  that  varying  intensity  of  cometic 
properties  may  be  attributed  the  variety  of  dis- 
plays in  the  tails  of  comets, — in  their  length, 
their  form,  their  number,  and  in  the  absence 
of  them. 

Not  only  the  forms  of  their  appendages,  but 
other  effects  in  the  modifications  of  light  may 
also  be  due  to  the  various  degrees  of  intensity 
of  cometic  properties,  as  may  also  the  variety 
in  the  color  of  the  trains  of  the  meteoroids 
resulting  from  the  disintegration  of  comets.  The: 


110  Comets. 

repulsion  that  prevents  the  union  of  cometic 
matter  with  that  which  enters  into  the  forma- 
tion of  aerolites  may  extend,  in  a  less  degree, 
to  bodies  that  are  wholly  cometic,  causing  them 
to  repel  each  other. 

A  comet  may  be  formed  by  the  union  of 
several  cometic  clouds  or  nebulae  having  prop- 
erties so  distinct  that  they  will  not  blend  nor 
commingle,  but  constitute  each  a  section  or  frag- 
ment having  its  own  power  of  transforming 
light,  by  which  means  the  comet  has  several 
tails,  or  shreds  of  light.  Or,  if  the  tails  are 
formed  by  matter  driven  by  the  power  of  the 
sun  from  the  body  of  the  comet,  the  frag- 
mentary state  of  the  comet  will  still  account 
for  the  divisions  of  luminous  matter  into  sev- 
eral streams  or  tails.  It  will  be  seen  that  such 
comets  do  not  revolve,  as  probably  none  do. 

We  may  well  surmise  that  comets  enter  upon 
their  life-work  of  display  with  a  high  degree 
of  the  quality  that  distinguishes  their  mysterious 
movements, — that  their  first  orbital  motions  are 
sharply  elliptical ;  but  that  only  those  that  have 
the  cometic  quality  or  mysterious  property  in 
full  strength  long  preserve  that  form  of  orbit. 


Various  Cometic  Properties.  11 1 

Those  that  have  less  of  that  strength  sooner 
lose  the  power  of  transforming  light  ;  their  later 
bodily  existence,  as  with  all,  finally,  is  without 
gorgeous  display  and  their  strength  continues  to 
fail,  till  at  last  they  merge  into  orbital  meteoric 
swarms,  or  streams,  as  if  preparing  for  their 
final  "dust  to  dust"  repose,  so  far  exhausted, 
and  worn  out,  that  when  the  earth  encounters 
the  stream  there  is  less  stubborn  repulsion,  and 
apparently  instead,  some  union  of  elements  in 
beautiful  showers  of  captured  meteoroids.  Even 
in  them,  however,  there  are  different  degrees  of 
cometic  property  displayed. 

The  August  meteors  often  leave  trails  of  lum- 
inous vapor  that  remain  in  view  several  sec- 
onds. Some  others  leave  trails  more  or  less 
conspicuous.  The  color  of  meteoroids,  or  their 
trails,  is  the  same  throughout  each  swarm,  but 
unlike  in  different  swarms.  So  to  the  peculiar- 
ities of  each  comet  are  to  be  attributed  the 
characteristics  of  the  meteoroids  into  which  it  is 
dissolved.  Hence,  if  in  one  swarm  the  meteor- 
oids or  their  trails  are  found  to  be  of  more 
than  one  color,  it  may  well  be  presumed  to  be 
the  remains  of  more  than  one  comet ;  or  else 


112  Comets. 

of   one  comet   composed  of   fragments  having  dif- 
ferent   cometic  properties, 

Meteoric  showers  are  but  another  form  of 
display  of  cometic  life,  probably  the  final  radi- 
ant scintillation  of  beauty. 

Comets    are    said   to    have    been    diverted    from 
their    course    by    the     attraction    of    planets    that 
were    passing     near     them,      thus     changing     the 
course     of,     and     contracting,     their    orbits ;     or, 
as    it    is     sometimes     termed,     introducing     them 
into    the    solar  system.      In  like  manner  meter oids 
are   doubtless   diverted    from    their    orbits  as  they 
follow    each  other    in    streams  ;    but  multitudes  of 
others     that    escape    being     intercepted    must     be 
diverted   from    their    course    by    the    powerful    in- 
fluence   of    the    passing    planets.      Owing    to    the 
successive     changes     of    the    relative    positions   of 
planets     and     meteoroids,     the     latter,     being     at- 
tracted   in    different    degrees    and    different    direc- 
tions,    are    drawn,    each     succeeding    one    into    a 
separate    orbit.     No    orbit    of  a    stream    can    thus 
be    changed,    as    no    meteoroid   will    be    drawn  by 
a    preceeding  one    into  another    orbit.     It  will  be 
readily  discerned  that   all  that   are    diverted  from 
a     stream     by    the     attraction     of    a    planet    are 


Meteoroitfa  Incombustible.  113 

scattered  into  separate  orbits.  Numerous  streams 
being  intersected  by  every  planet,  vast  numbers 
of  meteoroids  are  sent  flying  singly  through 
space.  All  of  those  shooting  stars  that  are  fol- 
lowed by  trails  of  light,  and  many  others  are 
probably  of  that  class  of  scattered  cometic  me- 
teoroids. 

Having  appeared  to  be  incombustible  when, 
in  cometic  form,  they  have  been  almost  in  con- 
tact with  the  sun,  their  combustion  in  our  at- 
mosphere would  be  only  apparent — only  a  lum- 
inosity produced  by  friction,  it  vanishes  with  the 
decrease  of  velocity  from  repulsion  and  resist- 
ance of  the  atmosphere,  and  they  escape  to  such 
distance  from  the  earth  as  the  opposing  influ- 
ences of  repulsion  and  attraction  would  determine. 

If  it  may  be  assumed  that  all  the  comets  in 
the  solar  system  were  formed  within  it,  then 
probably  their  first  approach  to  the  vicinity  of 
the  sun  was  very  direct,  and  their  first  peri- 
helion curve  nearly  in  contact  with  it,  thus 
demonstrating  by  an  ordeal  of  fire  that  their 
substance  is  indestructible  by  heat.  It  would 
therefore  appear  that  the  cometic  matter  of  me- 
teoroids is  never  destroyed  by  combustion  in  the 


114  Comets. 

comparatively  slight  heat  excited  by  friction  in 
the  earth's  atmosphere. 

If  by  the  powers  of  attraction  and  repulsion, 
meteoroids  are  held  to  the  distance  of  the 
corona  from  the  sun,  will  they  not  in  like 
manner,  when  approaching  the  earth,  be  with- 
held from  contact  with  it  by  cometic  repulsion  ; 
and  by  the  attraction  of  the  earth  from  leav- 
ing its  vicinity  ?  Held  in  a  .  position  relatively 
to  the  earth  as  the  corona  is  to  the  sun,  they 
would  not  be  ill  animated,  nor  be  in  such  vol- 
ume as  to  amount  to  more  than  a  trace  of  an 
envelop  of  the  earth.  Governed  by  the  same 
laws  they  would  be  held  in  the  position  of  a 
corona  that  would  be  scarcely  an  imitation  of 
one-— a  waste  too  faint  for  detection,  but  they 
would  be  restrained  by  laws  that  would  not 
permit  their  escape  from  that  position. 

Some  meteoroids  leave  trails  in  the  atmos- 
phere that  remain  in  view  several  seconds.  To 
appear  brilliant  at  their  supposed  distance  of 
forty  to  fifty  miles,  they  must  be  really  very 
considerable  streams  of  cometic  matter  eroded 
from  the  meteoroids.  What  becomes  of  that 
cometic  matter  ?  It  would  not  unite  with  any 


Earth's  Trace  of  a  Corona.  115 

uncometic  substance.  Whether  contracted  in  a 
body  again,  or  dispersed  as  in  the  trails,— true 
to  its  nature,  it  would  withdraw  from  the  earth 
to  a  distance  limited  by  the  power  of  its  re- 
pulsion. 

To  the  assumption  presented  in  the  first 
chapter,  that  preparatory  to  the  creation  of  the 
solar  system,  the  Creator  changed  the  matter  of 
which  it  was  to  be  formed  from  a  gaseous  to 
a  solid  form,  may  now  be  added  the  presump- 
tion that  He  'also  created  the  laws  by  which  all 
matter  is  governed,  and  that  He  keeps  those  laws 
in  force.  It  is  possible  that  unoccupied  space  was 
as  free  from  laws  as  from  matter  and  forms. 

The  hypothesis  relating  to  the  peculiar  proper- 
ties of  cometic  matter,  if  well  founded,  presents 
novel  features  for  our  consideration.  The  coex- 
istence in  space,  of  matter  having  opposite  ten- 
dencies, and  subject  to  conflicting  operative 
laws,  exhibits  a  complication  analogous  to  me- 
chanical construction.  .The  familiar  proposition 
that  the  existence  of  a  watch  argues  its  forma- 
tion by  a  maker  may  apply  in  relation  to 
those  conflicting  laws  in  operation  in  the  solar 
system.  If  the  assumption  is  correct  lhat  cometic 


116  Comets. 

matter  in  space  is  subject  to  laws  by  which  it 
repels  other  matter,  by  which  bodies  com- 
posed of  it  repel  other  bodies,  by  which, 
in  the  disintegration  of  a  comet  into  its  dete- 
riorated component  parts,  they  repel  each  other 
and  separate  ;  and  by  which .  gravitation,  ruling 
at  great  distance,  is  effectually  resisted  in 
vicinity ;  so  that  meteoroids  repelling  the  sun 
and  each  other,  are  yet  held  by  gravitation  in 
their  orbits  around  the  sun ;  a  complication  of 
laws  and  forces  is  presented  that  nothing  less 
than  infinite  wisdom  could  devise,  and  nothing 
less  than  infinite  power  can  maintain.  Does  not 
the  continuation  of  those  opposing  laws  in  con- 
flict imply  the  necessity  of  unceasing  exercise 
cise  of  power  in  maintaining  them  ?  And,  if 
so,  are  not  we  to  attribute  the  maintenance* 
and  operation  of  all  natural  laws  to  the  same 
unceasing  exercise  of  power  and  control  ?  While 
only  the  laws  of  gravitation  were  recognized,  ref- 
erence to  the  potency  of  matter  was  comparatively 
simple,  but  the  existence  of  another  law  com- 
peting for  joint  recognition  presents  complications 
that  are  not  so  easily  explained  independently 
of  supreme  design  and  control.  The  competing 


A  Complication  of  Laws'.  13  7 

law  is  only  partially  manifested  during  the  life- 
time of  worlds,  but  it  will  have  its  turn  when, 
in  the  dissolution  of  worlds,  and  the  dispersion 
of  their  substances,  gravitation  feels  them  grad- 
ually but  inevitably  slipping  from  under  its 
control. 


CHAPTER  III. 


ZODIACAL  LIGHT. 

"  All  are  but  parts  of  one  stupendous  whole." 

The  hypothesis  that  a  large  supply  of  meteoric 
matter  is  still  provided  for  sustaining  the  sun's 
energy,  if  found  reasonable,  also  opens  the  way 
for  a  solution  of  the  mystery  of  the  occurence 
of  the  zodiacal  light.  It  seems  to  be,  by  tacit 
consent,  accepted  that  the  great  nebula  was 
entirely  absorbed  in  the  sun  and  its  family  of 
orbs  when  they  were  formed,  and  that  none 
remained  of  it.  But  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  gravitation  has  ceased  to  act  on 
the  cosmical  dust  in  the  district  of  space  per- 
taining to  the  solar  system  ;  nor  that  the  sup- 
plies of  meteoric  matter  for  the  nourishment  of 
the  sun  have  been  discontinued,  but  rather  that 
they  have  been  constant  and  bountiful,  with  the 


Nebulous  Ring  Around  the  8uu.          119 

result  among  others,  that  the  vicinity  of  the 
sun,  to  a  great  distance  away,  has  never  been 
cleared  of  nebulous  matter. 

While  the  sun  continually  absorbs  it,  its  vol- 
ume is  as  constantly  maintained  by  fresh  sup- 
plies. Some  of  the  meteoric  matter  constantly 
arriving  would  be  vaporized  by  the  intense  heat, 
and  like  smoke  from  combustion  again  become 
nebulous.  Some,  falling  from  the  nearer  regions 
of  the  district,  would  not  have  become  con- 
densed ;  and  every  solid  aerolite  from  the  more 
distant  regions  may  be  enveloped  in  some,  as 
yet,  uncondensed  nebulous  matter.  A  portion 
also  may,  in  its  condensed  form,  vary  so  little 
from  nebulous  matter  that  it  is  ever  ready  to 
augment  the  volume  of  the  nebula.  So,  rea- 
sonable explanations  multiply,  and  not  unneces- 
sarily, for  phenomenal  evidences  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  nebula  appear  that  call  for  investi- 
gation. The  volume  of  the  nebula  so  maintained 
extends  out  farther  than  the  earth's  orbit,  and 
entirely  envelops  the  earth.  While  illumined  by 
the  sun  after  sunset  in  autumn,  or  before  sun- 
rise in  the  spring  months,  it  becomes  visible 
to  an  observer  favorably  stationed.  Its  tenuity 


120  Zodiacal  Light. 

is  such  that  a  side  view  of  it  is  not  favora- 
ble. Without  the  tropics  the  observer  is  far 
from  its  center,  and  sees  but  an  indistinct 
glow,  nor  even  that  but  in  an  unobscured  at- 
mosphere. 

At  a  high  elevation  within  the  tropics  he  has 
the  most  favorable  view  of  it.  He  *sees  nothing 
of  it  near  him,  but  in  his  long  range  of  sight 
through  its  length,  it  takes  the  form  of  its 
apex  in  the  distance.  Then  looking  in  the  op- 
posite direction,  he  beholds  what  is  called  the 
counter-glow,  a  more  dimly  illumined  patch,  the 
.apex  of  the  nebula  in  that  direction.  A  fainter 
glow  is  seen  all  around  the  horizon,  indicating 
that  it  extends  far  above,  and  envelops  the 
earth.  Lightness  and  purity  of  atmosphere,  and 
a  very  brief  twilight  contribute  much  to  the 
advantage  of  such  an  observation. 

The  light  when  seen  distinctly  at  the  equator, 
has  a  slanting  form.  Whatever  it  is,  being  'an 
appendage  of  the  sun,  an  observer  at  the 
earth's  equator  sees  it  in  line  with  the  sun's 
equator.  Hence  the  angle  of  the  nebula  with 
the  perpendicular  at  the  earth's  equator  would 
be  the  angle  between  the  two  equators — about 


A  Brilliant  Meteor.  121 

twenty-six  degress.  In  a  question  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  nebula, — with  him  that  denies  it 
would  lie  the  burden  of  the  proof  that  .the 
meteoric  matter  which  produces  it  ever  ceased 
to  gravitate  in  a  large  amount  to  the  sun. 
Any  small  amount  would  produce  a  proportion- 
ate nebulous  ring.  The  existence  of  a  large 
ring  is  evidence  of  a  great  supply  of  meteoric 
matter  being  constantly  furnished  for  sustaining 
the  sun's  energy. 

With  the  recognition  of  the  sun's  nebulous 
ring  extending  far  outside  of  the  earth's  orbit 
will  be  found  an  explanation  of  the  heating  of 
aerolites  that  appear  in  a  luminous  condition  at 
great  heights  near  the  earth,  an  explanation  the 
want  of  which  has  long  been  felt. 

About  the  year  1858,  this  writer  witnessed, 
just  before  a  clear  sunset  of  a  midsummer  day, 
the  passage  of  a  meteor  so  large  and  brilliant 
as  to  arrest  attention  as  it  appeared  in  sight 
at  a  distance  of  about  two  hundred  miles. 

Its  scintillations  had  the  appearance  of  the 
slow  flapping  of  one  wing  of  a  great  bird.  Its 
direction  was  from  southeast  to  northwest.  It 
was  observed  from  Baltimore  and  Detroit,  and 


122  Zodiacal  Light. 

from  points  far  and  near  along  its  course 
to  the  northwest,  a  distance  of  more  than  six 
hundred  miles.  Its  least  estimated  height  was 
eighty  miles,  as  reported  from  various  points, 
and  its  velocity  thirty  miles  a  second.  Its  alti- 
tude was  apparently  greater  at  its  disappearance 
than  when  it  came  to  view,  indicating  that  it 
was  passing  by  the  earth  on  its  passage  to  the 
sun.  The  question  arises,  could  a  resisting 
atmosphere  have  been  encountered  at  so  great 
a  height  as  to  heat  to  a  luminous  state  by  its 
resistance  of  two  or  three  seconds  before  it 
1  came  to  view,  a  body  so  large  as  to  appear 
very  brilliant  in  full  sunlight  two  hundred 
miles  distant?  The  reply  must  be  an  emphatic 
negative.  It  must  have  come  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  earth  in  its  luminous  condition.  Cannot 
there  be  found  a  heater  of  greater  range  and 
capacity  that  will  clear  the  possibly  misrepre- 
sented atmosphere  of  suspicion  in  the  past,  and 
responsibility  in  the  future,  of  heating  aerolites, 
great  or  small,  and  so  permit  its  reputed  posi- 
tion to  subside  quietly  to  its  supposed  normal 
altitude  of  forty-five  or  fifty  miles  ? 

In    the    absence    of    other    means,     it    is    pro- 


Meteors  Heated  in  the  Nebula.  12B, 

posed  to  attribute  the  heating  of  that  great 
aerolite  to  impact  in  the  nebula.  Any  length 
of  passage  through  it  may  be  assumed.  As  the 
earth  is  more  than  three  millions  of  miles- 
nearer  the  sun  in  winter  than  in  summer,  thus 
so  much  deeper  immersed  in  the  nebula  without 
a  difference  sufficient  to .  attract  attention,  or 
even  to  be  perceptible,  there  would  seem  to- 
be  no  impropriety  in  estimating  the  passage 
of  the  aerolite  through  the  nebulous  matter 
to  the  vicinity  of  the  earth  at  one  million  of 
miles  in  ten  hours,  or  five  millions  in  fifty 
hours.  Such,  estimate,  for  the  indispensa- 
ble process  of  heating,  is  far  more  reasonable 
for  a  body  so  large,  than  a  possible  two  or 
three  seconds  in  a  border  of  atmosphere  but 
a  trifle  more  dense  than  the  nebula.  Either 
distance  would  measure  but  a  slight  portion 
of  the  ring,  which  has  a  breadth  of  two  hun- 
dred millions  of  miles,  slightly  more  or  less. 
Accounts  have  been  rendered  of  aerolites  hav~ 
ing  become  heated  in  the  earth's  atmosphere  at 
such  heights  as  seventy  or  eighty  miles. 

There     were     two     incredible    features    in    the 
the      accounts.        One     was     that     solid     aerolites 


124  Zodiacal  Light. 

could  become  heated  to  an  extent  whereby 
they  became  luminous  by  an  immersion  of  two 
or  three  seconds  only,  in'  any  part  of  the  atmos  - 
phere,  much  less  in  the  most  attenuated  borders. 
The  other  incredible  feature  was  that  the  atmos- 
phere could  be  said  to  extend  to  heights  so 
great  as  seventy  or  more  miles,  since,  by 
mathematical  calculations,  its  height  has  been 
estimated  at  only  about  forty -five  miles. 

Being  discovered  in  luminous  condition  at 
the  height  of  more  than  eighty  miles,  that 
great  aerolite  must  have  encountered  some 
medium  far  beyond  the  atmosphere.  To  account 
for  similar  phenomena  the  atmosphere  has  been 
presumed  to  extend  to  the  height  of  more 
than  one  hundred  miles.  Cannot  such  phenomena 
be  explained  without  assuming  impossibilities  ? 
The  heating  of  that  enormous  meteor,  doubt- 
less scores  of  tons,  or  not  unlikely  hundreds 
of  tons,  in  weight,  to  a  flaming  condition  at 
a  greater  height  than  eighty  miles  was  too 
stupendous  to  be  explained  by  reference  to  two 
or  three  seconds  immersion  in  an  extremely 
attenuated  border  of  the  atmosphere,  if  such 
there  can  be  at  that  altitude.  The  heating  of 


Errors  of  Heating  Discussed.  125 

the  meteor,  owing  to  its  iciness  and  the  rarity 
of  the  nebula,  must  have  been  very  gradual, 
hence  the  allowance  of  ten  to  fifty  hours  im- 
mersion may  not  be  too  liberal. 

In  usual  explanations  the  heating  has  been, 
of  necessity,  said  to  be  very  rapid  because  it 
was  supposed  to  be  done  in  a  brief  immersion 
in  a  rare  portion  of  the  earth's  atmosphere. 
The  brilliancy  of  that  immense  meteor  before 
reaching  the  vicinity  of  the  earth  is  convincing 
evidence  that  its  heat  was  derived  from  a  source 
farther  away. 

If  the  estimate  of  the  immensity  of  the  me- 
teor, scores  of  tons  or  more  in  weight,  be 
thought  extravagant, — if  it  is  claimed  that  one 
of  a  few  hundred  pounds  could  be  made  as 
brilliant  at  an  equal  distance,  the  difficulty  of 
explanation  is  not  removed.  It  remains  with 
one  of  only  a  few  pounds,  or  a  single  pound. 
The  time  of  impact  in  the  rare  atmosphere, 
nearly  as  rare  as  the  nebula,  is  too  brief. 

The  existence  of  nebulous  matter  in  some  form 
causing  the  zodiacal  light  is  well  known,  but 
the  heating  of  aerolites  has  not  been  attributed 
to  it.  It  appears,  however,  to  be  the  only  ex- 


126  Zodiacal  Light. 

plicable  source  of  heat  in  the  instance  of  an 
aerolite  too  large  and  distant  to  have  derived 
its  great  heat  from  the  earth's  atmosphere. 

Lives  there  a  mathematician  who  will  attempt 
to  demonstrate  philosophically  that  the  temper- 
ature of  a  solid  aerolite  of  only  ten  pounds 
weight  may  be  raised  from  the  icy  condition  of 
outward  space  to  a  degree  that  will  render  the 
body  luminous  by  an  impact  of  two,  or 
even  five  seconds,  in  such  a  portion  of  the  at- 
mosphere as  may  exist  at  a  greater  height  than 
eighty,  or  even  forty-five  miles? 

Many  instances  have  been  known  of  brilliantly 
luminous  meteors  of  larger  size,  and  at  greater 
heights,  the  ascription  of  the  heating  of  which 
to  friction  in  the  rarest  attenuations  of  the  at- 
mosphere by  an  immersion  of  two  or  three 
seconds  rigorously  taxes  human  credulity. 

Many  will  remember  instances  of  meteors  of 
several  pounds  weight  that  exploded  with  ex- 
cess of  heat  before  reaching  the  earth,  to  whom 
the  explanation  that  their  heat  was  gained  by 
immersion  of  two  to  four  seconds  in  the  earth's 
atmosphere  was  never  satisfactory,  but  was  ac- 
cepted only  for  want  of  one  more  reasonable. 


A  List  of  Propositions.  127 

The  passage  of  an  immense  one,  requiring  far 
longer  time  for  heating  than  has  heretofore 
•  been  allowed,  is  valuable  for  disclosing  the 
error  of  attributing  such  achievements  of  heat- 
ing of  meteors  to  friction  of  a  few  seconds  in 
the  most  attenuated  part  of  the  earth's  at- 
mosphere. 

A  recognition  of  the  nebula  around  the  sun 
approximating  two  hundred  millions  of  miles  in 
diameter  may  assist  in  explaining  some  of  the 
mysterious  phenomena  pertaining  to  the  display 
of  comets  and  their  appendages.  Some  modi- 
fications of  transformed  light  may  be  better 
displayed  on  a  nebulous  field  than  elsewhere. 
Brilliant  comets  appear  suddenly  close  to  the 
sun — is  it  when  they  get  within  the  nebula. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  propositions 
mentioned  thus  far  in  this  work : 

1.  Elongated    district    in    space   pertaining   to 
the   solar   system. 

2.  Plane     of     planetary   orbits    coincides   with 
the    short    diameter    of   the    district. 

3.  Continual     meteoric     support    of    the     sun 
from    the    polar    regions    of    the    district. 


128  Zodiacal  Light. 

4.  The    sun's    growth  from   a  small  beginning 
to   its   recent   culmination. 

5.  The    large    proportions  of   comets  from  the 
polar     regions     indicate    that    supplies    of     other 
matter   from   thence  are  proportionately  abundant. 

6.  Cornets  have  their    origin    in    same   regions 
with    other    meteoric  matter. 

7.  Comets   distinguished  for   unknown  cometic 
properties. 

8.  Disintegration    into    meteoric  streams  is  the 
destiny   of   comets. 

9.  The    sun's    corona    a    mass    of    meteoroids 
from    disintegrated    comets. 

10.  Zodiacal    light   the   effect  of   the  illumina- 
tion   of    the   nebula. 

11.  Meteors  made  luminous   by   impact  in  the 
sun's   nebulous   ring. 

12.  The    sun's    nebulous    ring    maintained    by 
constant   meteoric  supplies. 

13.  Suggestion  introduced  here  :   Glacial  epochs 
possibly   the    effect     of    temporary    shrinkage     of 
the    nebula   whereby    the    earth    suffered  exposure 
to   the   frigidity    of    space, — was    left   out   in   the 
cold. 

A   passing    star,    or    system,    may    have   drawn 


Cause  of  Glacial  Epoch  Suggested.       129 

near  the  sun's  path,  though  beyond  its  district 
in  space,  and  'diverted  for  two  or  three  thou- 
sand centuries  a  portion  of  the  meteoric  sup- 
plies upon  which  the  fullness  of  the  ring  neb- 
ula depends,  the  result  of  which  would  be  the 
contraction  of  the  nebula  to  a  width  less  than 
the  earth's  orbit. 

It  is  not  merely  a  mantle — it  receives  heat 
as  well  as  light  from  the  sun,  and  retards,  in: 
some  degree,  its  radiation  from  the  earth. 
Serving  in  its  capacity  both  as  an  absorbent 
and  retainer  of  heat,  the  absence  of  the  neb- 
ulous mantle  from  its  extension  over  the  earth 
would  have  a  very  chilling  effect.  A  slight 
diminution  of  heat  would  afford  an  explanation 
of  an  extension  of  glaciers  over  the  earth  from 
the  polar  regions  where  they  are  perpetual. 

There  is  but  little  evidence  that  the  frigidity 
of  the  glacial  epoch  extended  over  all  the  earth, 
nor  could  there  well  be  such  evidence  in  any 
case.  If  no  traces  are  visible  of  glacial 

c!5 

effects  in  the  south  polar  regions,  it  may  be 
owing  to  the  geographical  formation  of  that 
part  of  the  globe.  The  land  at  the  south  pole 

is     separated   from    the    known     continents    by   a 

—9 


130  Zodiacal  Light. 

surrounding  ocean  too  vast  to  be  bridged  by 
creeping  glaciers,  however  formidable  their  di- 
mensions. 

The  southern  extremes  of  the  continents  be- 
ing far  from  the  pole,  and  in  the  midst 
of  great  oceans  that  would  moderate  their 
extremes  of  frigidity,  would  not  be  liable 
to  the  formation  of  spreading  glaciers.  The 
temperature  of  the  tropical  regions  during 
the  glacial  epoch  may  have  been  that  of 
the  temperate  zones  at  the  present  time. 
Therefore,  while  its  effects  would  be  trace- 
able only  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  the 
entire  earth's  surface  may  have  been  sub- 
ject to  extreme  glacial  temperature  owing  to 
being  many  centuries  without  the  protection 
of  its  nebulous  mantle. 

The  hypothesis  that  the  zodiacal  light  is  the 
effect  of  the  illumination  of  the  ring  nebula 
that  encircles  the  sun  has  its  explanation  in  the 
proposition  that  large  quantities  of  meteoric 
matter  are  continually  supplied  for  the  susten- 
tation  of  the  sun's  energy. 

The  existence  and  amplitude  of  the  sun's 
nebula  testify  in  turn  to  the  large  amount 


Supplies  for  the  Sun,  and  Comets.        131 

of  matter  furnished  for  the  prolongation  of 
the  sun's  life  and  usefulness.  Similarly  we 
find  a  mutual  relation  and  support  among  all 
the  propositions  named. 

The  first  one,  the  prolonged  district  in  space, 
was  proposed  to  supply  a  necessity.  Unques- 
tionably an  exposition  exists  that  will  satisfy 
the  claims  of  geological  history  of  the  occurrence 
of  far  greater  intervals  than  the  duration  of 
the  sun,  according  to  popular  theories,  will  ex- 
plain. Additional  supplies  of  matter  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  sun  through  the  long  intervals  would 
go  far  toward  furnishing  the  desired  explanation. 
The  meteoric  matter  coming  from  the  regions  near 
the  plane  of  the  ecliptic  are  barely  enough  to 
suggest  the  process  by  which  the  sun's  vigor 
may  be  sustained,  but  we  have  to  look  beyond 
the  planetary  zone  for  adequate  supplies. 

The  solar  system's  district  in  space  cannot 
be  globular.  Having  irregular  shape,  it  may 
also  be  oblong.  Supplies  may  come  from  exten- 
sions of  it  to  the  north  and  the  south  about  the 
axis  of  the  ecliptic.  The  suggestion  offers  the 
best  solution  yet  presented,  and  therefore  gives 
it  an  air  of  strong  probability,  which  again 


132  Zodiacal  Light. 

becomes  stronger  with  the  assurance  that  nearly 
all  the  comets  come  from  the  same  polar  direc- 
tions, supposing  that  comets  and  solid  bodies 
have  their  origin  in  the  same  regions  of  space. 
That  increasing  probability  gains  farther  strength 
from  the  appearance  that  the  nebula  around  the 
sun  is  maintained  in  its  fullness  by  the  influx 
of  meteoric  matter  for  the  support  of  the  sun 
also  from  those  regions. 

Upon  the  probability  that  none  of  the  comets 
are  visitors  from  other  systems,  but  that  all  have 
their  origin  in  the  same  regions  that  furnish 
supplies  for  the  sustenance  of  the  sun,  follows 
the  supposition  that  their  final  destiny,  being 
within  the  solar  ^system,  is  a  disintegration  into 
meteoric  swarms,  or  streams  of  meteoroids 
which,  in  their  gradual  descent  toward  the  sun, 
reach  their  destination  in  the  cometic  mass 
enveloping  it,  known  as  the  corona.  If  a  reason- 
able basis  can  be  found  accounting  for  the 
formation  of  comets  within  the  regions  pertain- 
ing to  the  solar  system,  the  proposition  that 
they  come  from  other  star  systems  on  journeys 
of  millions  of  years  duration,  take  a  turn 
around  our  sun,  and  depart  on  journeys  of  like 


Benefits  of  the  Sun's  Nebulous  Ring.     133 

duration,  would  seem  too  stupendous  to  be 
seriously  entertained. 

The  apparent  tenuity  of  the  nebula  between 
the  earth  and  the  sun,  rendering  it  undis- 
cernable,  suggests  the  possibility  that  in  the  early 
gatherings  of  cosmical  dust  into  nebulae  of 
which  the  worlds  were  mainly  formed,  the 
heavier  portions  were  absorbed,  being  naturally 
soonest  attracted.  Consequently  nebulae  recently 
formed  from  the  residue  would  be  less  dense, 
and  the  product  of  them  in  the  sun's  nebulous 
ring  would  be  lighter  and  clearer,  and  better 
adapted  to  the  present  occupancy  and  enjoyment 
of  the  earth  by  an  intellectual  race.  It  is  an 
instance  parallel  with  the  clearing  and  purifying 
of  the  atmosphere  in  recent  eras  for  the  same 
purpose.  Among  other  improvements  for  similar 
reasons  may  be  classed  the  polarization  of  light, 
and  the  exemption  of  the  planetary  zone  from 
the  abundance  of  falling  meteorites  that  would, 
if  continued  to  the  present  time,  have  been 
afflictive. 

Farther  attention  is  due  to  the  nebula  around 
the  sun.  That  light  is  greatly  modified  by  it 
is  indicated  by  the  zodiacal  light  on  its  border. 


134  Zodiacal  Light. 

The  heat  of  the  sun  is  also  greatly  modified  in 
its  passage  through  more  than  ninety  millions 
of  miles  of  nebulous  matter,  and  its  uniformity 
is  also  maintained  to  an  essential  degree  by  the 
immersion  of  the  earth  in  the  nebula. 

Doubtless  the  abrupt  extremes  of  day  and 
night  temperature  are  greatly  modified  by  it. 

Is  it  not  desirable  that  the  benefit  to  man- 
kind from  the  sun's  corona,  and  its  nebulous 
ring,  in  the  modification  of  light  and  heat 
shall  have  proper  recognition  in  the  bestowal 
of  due  attention  upon  them  ?  If  these  benefits 
to  the  human  race  are  real,  is  it  not  dishon- 
oring science  to  ignore  them  ? 

Even  the  last  proposition  or  conjecture  re- 
garding the  cause  of  the  glacial  epochs  is  re- 
lated more  or  less  directly,  through  the  ring 
nebula,  to  that  of  the  ample  support  of  the 
sun  through  the  polar  regions. 

Thus  from  the  hypothesis  of  the  prolonged 
district  in  space  pertaining  to  the  solar  system 
and  the  meteoric  matter  supplied  from  it,  em- 
anate all  the  propositions  relating  to  the  phe- 
nomena thus  far  herein  discussed. 

A    number    of     propositions    and    explanations 


Apology  lor  Criticisms.  135 

have  been  introduced  in  this  treatise  conflicting 
with  theories  held  by  eminent  astronomers.  The 
apology  is  that  the  propositions,  if  true,  afford 
new  explanations  of  the  phenomena  to  which 
they  relate.  To  withhold  them  would  be  timor- 
ous, and  untrue  to  the  purpose  of  the  work.  It 
will  not  be  surprising  nor  unacceptable  if  some 
of  them  suffer  severe  criticism. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


TRANSMUTATION   OF   THE  EARTH'S  CRUST. 

How  grand,  sublimely  grand  the  plan  : 
See,— wisdom  breaks  the  way  for  man. 

We  come  now  to  a  consideration  of  our  globe 
while  it  was  in  preparation  for  the  advent  of 
organic  life  upon  it,  with  especial  reference  to 
its  being  prepared  for  the  abode  of  man.  After 
its  formation  in  connection  with  all  the  other 
planets,  it  was,  it  is  generally  believed,  in  a 
molten  condition.  The  water  which,  with  the 
solid  matter,  had  been  evolved  out  of  the  neb- 
ula, had  found  no  resting  place  upon  it.  That 
it  eventually  did  so,  we  have  at  least  the  evi- 
dence of  our  senses.  The  manner  of  the  de- 
scent upon  the  fiery  globe  is  an  exceedingly 
entertaining  chapter  of  the  earth's  history.  It 
was  an  intensely  interesting  exhibition  of  power 


Benefits  Resulting  from  Transformation.  137 

and  wisdom,  for  "  the  Spirit  of  God  moved 
upon  the  face  of  the  waters." 

We  shall  see  how  in  the  process  of  His  moving 
upon  the  waters,  He  developed  fertility  out  of  ster- 
ility, and  devised  and  provided  for  enlightenment 
instead  of  barbarism.  Let  us  be  mindful  of  the 
course  of  His  benevolence, — recognize  His  hand 
in  the  work,  and  accord  as  much  honor  to 
Him  as  He  bestows  upon  us  (if  possible),  in 
doing  so  mighty  things  for  us. 

He  never  does  things  by  halves.  When  He 
says  "let  the  dry  land  appear,"  there  will  be 
an  abundance  of  it,  and  of  a  quality  far  supe- 
rior to  any  that  could  subsequently  have 
been  developed  slowly  by  erosion  out  of  a 
granite  crust ;  and  the  abundance  and  quality 
will  be  recognized  as  a  direct  result  of  His 
having  " moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters." 

We  find  various  opinions  about  the  degree  of 
heat  of  the  globe  while  in  its  molten  condi- 
tion,— an  important  item,  for  upon  it  depends 
the  length  of  time  consumed  in  its  cooling.  ** 

Our  hypothesis  of  an  early  separation  of  neb- 
ulous matter  from  the  sun  permits  a  low  esti- 
mate of  the  heat  of  the  molten  globe.  We  will 


138    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

place  it  at  five  thousand  degrees.  If  others- 
choose  a  higher  figure,  they  must  allow  addi- 
tional time  for  its  cooling,  say  four  or  five 
millions  of  years  for  every  thousand  degrees 
added,  with  no  other  apparent  difference  than  a 
very  lavish  expenditure  of  the  sun's  energy 
for  the  longer  "  time.  We  have  yet  to  allow 
for  the  reduction  of  the  temperature  an  estimate 
of  fourteen  hundred  decrees  before  the  clouds 

o  . 

can  be  supposed  to  have  settled  very  near  the 
surface.  The  radiation  of  heat  by  the  most 
rapid  possible  rate  of  vaporization  accelerates 
the  cooling,  yet  a  few  millions  of  years  are 
consumed  in  it. 

During  all  that  immense  interval,  the  waters 
of  the  globe,  sufficient  to  cover  it  nearly  two 
miles  in  depth,  were  held  aloft  and  converted 
into  steam  ;  forming  clouds,  in  weight,  equiv- 
alent to  about  three  hundred  times  that  of  the 
atmosphere  of  the  earth ;  and,  doubtless,  ex- 
tending many  miles  above  it.  Being  rapidly 
condensed  in  the  upper  regions,  the  water  came 
down  in  torrents  of  rain,  only  to  be  again  con- 
verted, far  above  the  surface,  into  steam,  and 
driven  upward  by  intense  heat ;  and,  water 


Waters  Held  Aloft  by  Heat.  139- 

streaming  downward,  lightnings  flashing,  and 
thunders  roaring, — not  for  a  day,  nor  a  year, 
but  during  all  the  time  required  for  reducing 
the  heat  of  the  globe  several  hundred  degrees. 
From  pole  to  pole,  over  the  entire  surface  of 
the  globe,  over  every  mile  of  the  surface,  that 
violent  commotion  was  continued  without  ces- 
sation. 

In  every  particular  that  stupendous  phenom- 
enon baffles  the  utmost  effort  of  the  imagina- 
tion to  explore  it,  in  its  duration,  in  its  ex- 
tent, in  its  violence,  in  its  desolation,  and  in 
its  display  of  tremendous  power.  During  the 
extreme  intensity  of  the  heat,  clouds  were  held 
very  high  above  the  rock,  but  as  the  cooling; 
progressed,  they  gradually  settled  lower,  and 
still  lower,  till  some  of  the  heavier  dashes  be- 
gan to  reach  the  rock.  That  rain  could  not 
have  fallen  with  a  steady  patter,  at  such  rate 
as  we  often  witness.  The  heavy  downpour, 
shaken  by  severe  electrical  explosions,  frequently 
became  heavy  dashes  of  water,  which,  descending 
lower  than  the  smaller  streams,  or  drops,  would 
soonest  reach  the  rock. 

The   heat   must   still    be   very   intense    that   cam 


140    Transformation  of  the  Earth 's  Crust. 

volatilize,  in  an  instant,  the  water  in  some  of 
those  heaviest  streams  in  a  fall  of  a  few  feet 
below  the  body  of  the  shower,  or  cloud.  And 
yet  that  is  the  kind  of  resistance  the  deluge 
of  waters  had  encountered  during  millions  of 
waiting  years.  What  must  still  be  the  degree 
of  heat  that  can  so  persistently  repel  that  deluge 
of  waters?  What  degree  of  heat  will  suffice  to 
repel  and  convert  into  steam  in  one  or  two 
seconds,  the  heaviest  dashes  of  water  that  ever 
fell  from  an  overladen  cloud  ?  Can  it  be  effected 
by  less  than  three  thousand  degrees  F.  ?  That 
is  about  fifteen  hundred  to  eighteen  hundred 
degrees  less  than  that  at  which  granite  is  melted, 
and  nearly  twenty-eight  hundred  degrees  hotter 
than  the  boiling  point  of  the  falling  waters. 
What  effect  will  those  heavy  dashes  of  water 
have  upon  the  heated  rock  ? 

Let  us  take  a  walk  in  yonder  field,  and  talk 
the  matter  over.  We  have  other  matters  to 
interest  us  as  well  as  scientific  inquiries  into 
chaotic  phenomena, — matters  affecting  our  con- 
venience, and  our  progress  in  earning  our  daily 
bread. 

There   is   that    granite    boulder    we    have    had 


Effect  of  Water  on  a  Heated  Rock.       141 

to  plow  around  so  many  times.  We  would  like 
to  remove  it,  but  it  is  very  heavy — weighs 
two  tons,  or  more.  We  build  a  fire  around  it 
with  all  the  old  stumps  and  bits  of  wood  we 
can  get  conveniently.  If  the  fire  is  brisk,  and 
ample,  it  will  break  the  boulder"  through  its 
shortest  diameter  into  two  or  more  pieces.  We 
wait,  and  stir  the  fire  vigorously,  and  wait 
again.  The  stone  gets  well  heated,  but  too 
slowly — it  does  not  break.  Let  us  throw  water 
upon  it.  A  sudden  change  of  temperature  will 
help  to  break  it.  We  dash  a  basin-full  on  the 
top.  It  splinters  the  rock,  but  only  "raises  a 
scale,  an  inch  or  more  thick  in  the  center,  and 
tapering  to  a  sharp  edge  all  around.  The  scale 
is  about  two  feet  wide,  and  cleft  vertically 
through  the  middle.  We  remove  the  scales  r 
and  give  the  rock  another  dash  of  water,  with 
like  result.  We  find  that  just  so  much  of  the 
rock  is  scaled  off  as  is  cooled  instantly  by  con- 
tact of  the  water. 

Now  in  regard  to  that  strife  of  the  elements 
on  the  globe,  the  heaviest  falling  streams  begin 
to  reach  the  surface.  The  contact  is  instanta- 
neous. Dashes  of  water  that  reach  the  rock 


142      Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

cannot  spread  on  that  intensely  heated  surface  ; 
therefore  the  fragments  are  narrow — only  the 
width  touched  by  the  water — width  and  thick- 
ness varying  with  the  volume  of  water,  but 
the  fragments  are  of  the  same  description  as 
those  that  were  broken  from  the  boulder.  Soon 
the  heavy  dashes  of  water  upon  the  surface 
become  more  frequent,  with  the  result  of  nu- 
merous fractures.  The  increase  of-  fragments 
begins  to  check  the  upward  flow  of  the  heat, 
only  a  trifle  indeed,  but  that  implies  so  much 
less  resistance  of  heat  to  the  great  pressure  of 
the  deluge  of  waters  above,  and  many  streams 
consequently  reach  the  surface,  resulting  in  many 
fragments,  a  farther  check  upon  the  rising  heat, 
and  a  settling  of  the  heavy  clouds  still  lower. 
As  the  volume  of  water  increases  to  a  depth 
of  twenty  feet, — one  hundred  feet,  and  more, 
at  no  time  can  it  rest  upon  the  rock,  the  heat 
of  which  increases  with  the  downward  progress 
of  the  water.  The  aggressive  waters  can  no 
longer  be  restrained,  and  soon  the  result  is, 
that  the  fragments  on  the  surface  can  no  longer 
be  described  as  numerous,  but  as  an  accumula- 
tion, or  a  mass  of  debris,  which  so  intercepts 


Rending  of  the  Earth's  Crust.  143 

the  rising  heat  that  unresisted  torrents  of  water 
fall.  Though  forcefully  repelled  from  resting 
on  the  rock,  the  torrents  are  overpowering. 
The  water  prevails,  and  accumulates  rapidly— 
not  resting  silently,  but  surging  violently  among, 
and  with  the  rocky  fragments.  Nothing  can 
prevent  its  downward  thrusts  upon  the  rocky 
crust,  with  the  inevitable  result,  a  fracture  of 
the  rock  marking  every  contact  of  the  water 
with  it.*  "It  is  difficult  to  conceive,  much  more 
to  describe  the'  downward  progress  of  the  water 
as  it  eats  its  way  rapidly  into  the  rocky  crust. 
Being  the  only  instance  the  world  has  ever 
known  of  such  phenomenal  action  of  water, 
only  with  the  greatest  reluctance  and  utmost 
caution  will  men  accept  the  novel  account,  and 
accede  to  its  correctness.  The  conviction  must 
eat  its  way  into  the  mind  with  no  less  per- 
sistence, perhaps,  but  perforce,  no  less  in- 
evitably. 

The  theory  here  suggested  will  be  scrutinized 
as  being  a  bold  departure  from  all  that  have 
heretofore  been  presented  on  the  subject.  We 
have  never  found  one  with  any  definiteness  of 
details.  The  great  pioneer  geologist,  Werner, 


144      Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

may  have  conceived  it.  It  is  said  that  he  ap- 
pended to  one  of  his  literary  works  some  notes 
suggesting  it.  The  most  definite  recent  sug- 
gestion we  find  in  text  books  is  the  following : 
"  The  condensable  vapor  would  have  gradually 
settled  upon  the  earth  as  the  cooling  progressed."* 
Indefinite  as  it  is,  the  belief  has  seemed  to  be 
generally  accepted. 

There  has  been  a  vague,  agnostic  notion  that 
in  some  unaccountable  manner,  the  water  set- 
tled gradually  upon  the  unbroken  rock  without 
any  other  violence  than  a  fearful  amount  of 
chaotic  bluster  and  storm  revels.  Some  of  the 
authorities  have  indicated  two  hundred  degrees 
as  about  the  temperature  to  which  the  cooling 
of  the  earth  would  progress  before  the  settling 

*Some  writers  have  suggested  that  while  the  waters 
of  the  globe  were  repelled  by  its  heat,  and  held  aloft, 
they  were  but  partially  developed,  and  that  their  ele- 
ments were  still  in  a  nebulous  state.  However  that 
may  have  been  at  the  completion  of  the  earth's  form, 
any  nebulous  matter  then  remaining  must  have  been 
fully  consolidated  during  the  millions  of  years  that 
were  required  for  cooling  the  globe  to  such  a  degree 
that  its  heat  would  no  longer  repel  the  descending 
torrents.  Doubtless  during  that  interval,  the  waters 
were  fully  developed.  However,  had  they  been  but 
half  developed  there  would  have  been  sufficient  for 
rending  the  globe's  rocky  crust. 


Ocean-Volume  Deluge  Inevitable.         145 

of  the  waters  upon  it.  Had  all  the  waters 
been  restrained  from  falling  till  the  earth's  sur- 

O 

face  was  cooled  to  that  degree  2  Or  had  they 
been  falling  and  revelling  in  a  furious  dance 
upon  an  unbroken  rock  surface  during  the  mill- 
ions of  years  of  preparatory  cooling  of  the 
globe  ( 

This  treatise  sets  forth  that  the  waters  were 
restrained*  by  natural  law  from  falling  upon 
the  heated  globe  so  long  as  the  heat  Avas  suf- 
ficient to  disperse  the  falling  water  in  steam 
before  it  could  reach  the  surface.  As  soon  as 
the  heat  became  insufficient  to  volatilize  the  fall- 
ing water,  by  natural  law  it  must  have  fallen 
upon  the  surface.  It  could  have  been  no  long- 
er restrained,  except  by  miracle,  but  must  have 
fallen, — not  gradually  settled  with  the  gentle- 
ness .  of  condensable  vapor,  but  with  the  over- 
whelming impetuosity  of  an  ocean  volume,  must 
have  dashed  uninterruptedly  down  upon  the  vio- 
lently raging  surface. 

That  "condensable  vapor"  comprised  all  the 
waters  of  the  world.  Go  abroad  upon  the 
oceans,  the  Atlantic  three  thousand  miles  wide, 

the    Pacific   ten   thousand    miles   wide ;    make    full 
-10 


146     Transformation  of  the  Eaith's  Crust. 

survey  of  their  limits,  with  all  the  other  oceans 
and  seas ;  measure  their  vast  depths  and  com- 
pute their  volume;  and  you  find  but  a  part  of 
the  waters  that  formed  the  condensable  vapor, 
the  mystery  of  which  has  been  so  long  im- 
penetrable to  human  understanding. 

Before  the  crust  had  begun  to  form  on  the 
molten  surface,  there  may  have  been  a  long  in 
terval  after  the  waters  were  separated  from  the 
nebulous  matter  from  which  the  globe  was 
formed,  of  which  no  evidence  remains.  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  original  temperature  of 
the  globe,  the  surface  would  be  cooling  down 
to  the  temperature  at  which  molten  granite  be- 
gins to  solidify.  That  degree  of  it  may  vary 
with  surrounding  circumstances,  as  the  nature  of 
the  rock,  the  molten  globe  beneath,  and  the  in- 
tense heat  of  the  enveloping  atmosphere.  As  it 
will  be  necessary  to  refer  many  times  to  it, 
for  convenience  let  forty-five  hundred  degrees 
be  named  as  an  approximation,  subject  to  cor- 
rections, -  which,  however  will  not  affect  the  ar- 
gument. 

A    much    higher    degree    might    be    required    to 
melt    granite    in    a    cool    surrounding   atmosphere 


Ocean-Laden  Clouds  Ovei  whelm  the  Globe.  147 

than     to     solidify     granite     on    a    molten    globe. 

Some    rocks    melt    with   far    less  heat  than  others. 

After     a     farther     reduction     of    nine    hundred 

degrees,    the    clouds   would   have   settled   near  the 

O  ' 

surface,  according  to  a  speculative  estimate 
placing  the  temperature  at  the  time  of  the 
descent  of  the  waters  at  thirty-six  hundred 
degrees,  when  the  heat  had  insufficient  power 
to  any  Idhger  restrain  the  water  from  falling. 
That  was  indeed  a  vast  power  of  heat,  but  the 
weight  of  the  clouds  was  equally  tremendous, 
equivalent  to  that  of  about  thirty  atmospheres. 
We  have  followed  the  course  of  the  phenom- 
enal descent  of  the  water  to  the  vicissitudes  in 
which  it  can  no  longer  be  restrained.  It  falls 
in  volumes  such  as  only  ocean-laden  clouds 
can  disgorge,  and  over  the  entire  globe.  Every- 
where it  makes  its  way  among  and  under  the 
fragments,  attacking  persistently  the,  for  once, 
vanquished  rock.  It  increases  rapidly  upon  the 
surface  of  the  globe,  but  can  nowhere  rest 
upon  it.  The  contest  betwreen  the  water  and 
the  rock  is  indescribable.  The  attacks  are  in- 
stantaneous and  constant, — an  instant  explosion 
attending  every  attack  upon  the  rock,  opening 


148    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

a  cavity,  or  vacuum,  into  which  nothing  else 
enters  so  freely  and  quickly  as  water, — not 
gently  flowing,  but  with  the  forcible  injection 
of  extreme  pressure  instantly  attacking  the  rock 
again,  as  it  were  with  deadly  enmity,  with 
rapid  thrusts  eating  its  way  into  it.  In  a  frac- 
ture on  a  surface,  horizontal,  or  nearly  so,  the 
scale  is  not  raised  out  of  its  bed  till  another 
fracture  beside  it  tilts  it,  but  the  water  goes 
beside  it,  soon  tilting  and  displacing  it.  If  the 
attacks  are  made  horizontally,  or  upward,  the 
fragments  fall  instantly  out  of  their  places,  and 
the  water  attacks  the  rock  beyond.  It  thrusts 
right  and  left,  and  upward  as  well  as  down- 
ward, opening  channels  and  galleries.  Thus 
the  rock  is  honey -com  bed  in  every  direction  ; 
many  masses,  large  and  small,  are  surrounded 
and  cooled  without  being  farther  broken- ;  and 
the  presence  of  the  plentiful  supply  of  large 
fragments,  or  boulders,  found  in  the  various 
orders  of  stratified  rocks,  as  well  as  a  portion 
of  those  that  have  been  tossed  about  on  the 
surface,  is  thus  explained.  Abrasion  of  the  vio- 
lently tossed  and  tumbled  fragments  produces 
large  quantities  of  sand,  fine  and  coarse;  which. 


Rending  of  the  Earth's  Crust.  149 

settling    under    fragments,   helps  to  displace  them. 

In  many  places  being  packed  among  the  frag- 
ments, it .  protects  small  portions  of  the  surface 
from  the  action  of  the  water,  but  the  rock  has 
no  protection  from  the  upward  rapid  progress 
of  the  water  that  finds  its  way  ill  to  under- 
mine such  portions.  To  speak  of  the  violent 
ebullition  of  the  water,  conveys  but  a  feeble 
idea  of  th*e "  explosive  force  of  the  stream  in- 
stantly generated  under  the  fragments  by  the 
dashing  of  water  upon  rock  more  than  three 
thousand  degrees  hotter  than  itself.  Although 
the  water  is  at  boiling  heat,  it  instantly  cools 
a  portion  of  the  rock  with  which  it  comes  in 
contact,  not  only  through  its  lower  temperature, 
but  also  through  the  attendant  instant  vaporiza- 
tion of  the  water.  As  the  temperature  of  the 
rock  increases  with  the  greater  depth  attained, 
the  explosions  of  steam,  and  the  commotions  of 
the  water  become  more  violent.  The  downward 
progress  of  the  water  is  without  .interruption. 

The  inquiry  must  arise  in  every  thoughtful 
mind,  to  what  depth  will  the  breaking  of  the 
rocky  crust  extend  ?  What  can  arrest  the  de- 
structive action  of  the  water?  Will  the  weight 


150    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

of  the  debris  effect  it  at  the  depth  of  one 
mile,  or  two  miles,  or  three  miles  (  No — noth- 
ing can  resist  the  explosive  power  of  steam. 
It  opens  the  way,  and  keeps  it  open  for  the 
downward  progress  of  the  water.  Nothing  can 
arrest  the  destruction  of  the  rocky  crust  so  long 
as  there  is  rock  to  be  broken.  The  entire  solid 
crust  of  the  earth  must  be  transformed, — must 
be  rent  into  fragments.  The  water  reaches  the 
molten  mass  below,  and  can  go  no  farther. 

The  depth  at  which  the  water  encountered  the 
molten  mass  can  be  estimated  by  taking  the 
measure  of  the  entire  thickness  of  stratified 
rocks  on  the  globe, — eight  miles  under  deep 
oceans,  and  eighteen  miles  in  the  highest 
mountains.  Thirteen  miles  may  be  a  medium 
depth  from  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  The 
water  having  reached  the  molten  mass  beneath 
the  rocky  crust,  finds  a  temperature  of  about 
forty -five  hundred  degrees.  Estimating  the  depth 
at  thirteen  miles,  and  a  change  of  one  degree 
for  every  seventy-six  feet,  we  find  the  temper- 
ature on  the  surface  would  have  been  about 
three  thousand  and  six  hundred  degrees,  or 
nearly  thirty -four  hundred  degrees  above  the 


Heat  of  the  Crust  During  the  Rending    151 

boiling  point  of  water.  It  is  not  essential  to 
know  precisely  the  temperature  of  the  rock  at 
the  time  the  water  began  to  fall  upon  it.  If 
it  was  less  than  thirty-six  hundred  degrees,  the 
water  would  soon  encounter  that  degree  in  its 
downward  progress.  It  is  enough  to  know  that 
the  heat  was  so  fierce  that  the  transforming 

o 

process  and  result  must  have  been  the  same, 
whatever  the  precise  temperature  of  the  surface 
may  have  been.  A  change  of  one  degree  to 
about  fifty  feet  may  be  taken  as  an  average 
allowance,  for  convenience  in  this  treatise,  for 
stratified  rocks,  hard  and  soft ;  but  a  change  of 
one  degree  to  seventy-six  feet  may  have  been 
more  nearly  correct  for  solid  heated  granite  of 
the  globe,  through  miles  in  depth. 

This  estimate  of  the  temperature  of  the  globe 
surface  at  the  time  of  the  descent  of  the  water 
upon  it  may  enable  us  to  arrive  at  some  con- 
clusion in  regard  to  the  possibility  of  the  wa- 
ters so  settling  without  breaking  the  rocky 
crust.  We  must  bear  in  mind  the  thickness  of 
the  cloud — scores,  or  hundreds  of  miles  ;  the  bur- 
den of  it  the  weight  of  all  the  ocean  waters ; 
the  continual  condensation  of  it,  copious  beyond 


152    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

human  powers  of  conception.  We  must  ponder 
well  whether  such  a  mass  of  ' '  condensable 
vapor"  could  gradually  settle  upon  the  globe,  so 
heated  that  while  it  could  no  longer  prevent 
the  waters  from  reaching  it,  yet  they  could  not 
rest  upon  it  nor  gradually  cool  it  in  many  cen- 
turies while  it  remained  in  unbroken  solidity. 

Even  if  rain  could  fall  gently,  at  first,  the 
water  must  accumulate  in  time  near  the  sur- 
face in  augmenting  volumes,  and,  on  being  re- 
pelled must  fall  in  heavier  dashes,  causing 
fractures  with  every  contact.  There  can  be  but 
one  conclusion  to  the  matter.  Unless  it  were 
by  interposed  miracle,  that  mighty  mass  of 
water  could  not  have  settled  upon  that  heated 
rock  in  its  fullness  of  unrestrained  downpour 
without  rending  it.  No  interposition  to  prevent 
the  rending  of  the  rock  was  desirable,  for,  as 
we  shall  discover,  it  was  altogether  to  be  desired, 
and  even  necessary  for  the  preparation  of  the 
earth  for  the  abode  of  man. 

Again  the  phenomenal  changes  and  the  con- 
dition of  the  earth's  crust  embarass  our  pow- 
ers of  description,  and  even  of  conception.  The 
water,  having  reached  the  molten  mass  below 


Earth's  Crust  Ground  by  Steam  Power.  158 

the  fragmental  crust,  could  go  no  farther.  It 
had  reduced  the  temperature  of  the  upper  sur- 
face more  nearly  to  that  of  boiling  water, 
while  that  of  the  molten  mass  below  the  broken 
crust  was  nearly  forty-four  hundred  degrees 
higher.  The  entire  mass,  thirteen  miles  in 
depth  of  debris  and  water,  is  kept  in  violent 
motion  by  the  resistless  power  of  steam  over 
the  entire  surface  of  the  globe. 

Another  such  instance  of  abrasion  of  frag- 
ments and  trituration  of  sand,  the  world  has 
never  known,  all  in  preparation  of  materials, 
sifting,  sorting,  and  apportioning  them  for  imme- 
diate and  prospective  use  in  forming  the  great 
variety  of  rocks  and  soils  of  the  earth. 

In  the  sorting  process,  the  heavier  and  clearer 
cilicic  portions  tend  downward  and  give  char- 
acter to  the  chrystalline  rocks  of  the  lowest 
strata ;  the  darker  sands,  a  trifle  lighter,  rise 
higher,  and  characterize  the  red  sandstone  form- 
ations, while*  the  lighter  and  finer  pulverized 
portions  are  found  in  the  slaty  formations,  and 
in  the  various  soils  of  the  upper  strata.  We 
see  in  all  this  a  bountiful  supply  of  materials 


154     Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

most  wisely  arranged  in  preparation  for  the  in- 
troduction of  organic  life,  whenever  dry  land 
shall  appear. 

Pending  the  consideration  and  acceptance  of 
the  account  here  presented,  let  us  examine  the 
heretofore  generally  recognized  hypothesis. 

There  has  ever  been  an  unsolved  mystery 
concerning  the  source  from  whence  came  the 
materials  found  in  the  stratified  rocks  of  the 
earth.  It  is  believed  and  taught  that  when  the 
water  first  rested  upon  the  globe,  it  rested 
upon  unbroken  rock  forming  its  crust ;  and  that 
after  a  long  process  of  cooling,  and  consequent 
shrinkage,  and  disruption  of  the  crust ;  portions 
of  it,  at  the  point  of  rupture,  were  raised  up 
in  various  forms  through  the  water,  and  above 
the  surface,  and  became  exposed  to  erosion  by 
frosts,  rains,  torrents,  and  ocean  waves :  and 
the  debris  washed  out  into  the  then  existing 
seas  ;  and  from  such  deposits,  and  like  pro- 
cesses, were  derived  the  materials  for  the  form- 
ation of  the  eight  to  eighteen  miles  in  thick- 
ness of  stratified  rocks  of  the  earth.  According 
to  this  prevailing  theory,  all  the  materials  for 
the  formation  of  stratified  rocks  and  soils  of 


Prevalent  Hypothesis  Examined.        155 

the  earth  must  have  been  eroded  from  the 
granite  crust,  or  erupted  from  beneath  it. 

Let  us  make  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of 
materials  thus  provided,  and  see  how  far  it 
will  account  for  the  accumulations,  distinguishing; 
by  name  between  hard  and  soft  rocks.  Xo 
account  of  repeated  erosions  of  stratified 
rocks  can  be  taken  in  the  estimates.  The 
eroded  matter  mu'st  all  have  come  once  from 
the  granite  crust.  Our  estimates  must  be  limited 
to  those  sources.  Repeated  grinding  does  not 
increase  the  amount  materially.  Let  us  care- 
fully scrutinize  the  supposed  sources. 

Xearly  all  the  mountains  formed  by  elevations 
from  the  earth's  surface  are  covered  by  strati- 
fied rocks  that  protect  the  granite  portions  from 
erosion.  The  other  mountains  so  formed  are 
nearly  enveloped  by  stratified  rocks.  Only  the 
granites  or  kindred  rocks  of  their  summits  are 
exposed  to  erosive  forces.  They  stand  bleak 
and  desolate  indeed,  but  grand  in  their  per- 
sistent perpetuity,  and  sublime  in  their  lofty 
supremacy.  They  are  nearly  indestructible. 
They  furnish  but  a  meagre  supply  of  eroded 
matter.  Xow  let  us  imagine  cavities  formed 


156     Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

under  all  those  mountain  summits  of  igneous 
granite,  of  their  full  width  and  extent,  and  to 
the  depth  of  the  entire  strata  ;  and  like  cavi- 
ties under  all  the  other  similar  rocks  exposed 
to  erosive  action  ; — would  all  the  matter  ever 
eroded  from  those  exposed  rocks  suffice  to  fill 
those  cavities,  or  even  a  fourth  of  them  ? 
Certainly  not  with  erosions  from  hard  granite. 

In  like  manner  dispose  of  all  the  matter 
erupted  from  beneath  the  earth's  surface.  Now 
nil  the  supplies  furnished  by  known  geological 
methods  are  exhausted  without  discovering  the 
sources  of  supply  of  a  ten-thousandth  part  of 
the  accumulations  of  stratified  matter  upon  our 
globe.  If  there  ever  has  been  a  larger  aggre- 
gate of  surface  of  original  crust  rocks  exposed 
to  erosive  action,  we  must  remember  it  was 
the  same  obdurate  granite  and  kindred  rocks 
represented  in  the  mountain  peaks  that  have 
defied  the  erosive  forces  of  millions  of  years. 
We  must  not  fail  to  distinguish  between  the 
immense  erosions  of  stratified  rocks,  and  the 
comparatively  slight  erosions  of  mountain  granite. 

Geologists  have  informed  us  that  the  stratified 
rocks  have  a  depth  of  ten  to  twenty  miles. 


Former  Hypotheses  Discussed.  157 

They  know  the  matter  must  have  had  an  origin, 
but  can  only  hint  of  inconceivably  long  geo- 
logical time  in  which  matter  mi<2fht  have  been 

o  ~ 

gathered  from  somewhere.  By  what  means  ma- 
terials, eroded  from  surface  rocks,  and  deposited 
in  the  seas,  could  have  found  their  way  down 
ten  or  more  miles  to  form  all  the  lower  strata r 
they  could  only  explain,  or  evade,  by  reference 
to  indefinitely  long  time. 

The  phenomena  of  chrystalline  metamorphosed 
rocks  of  great  thickness  throughout  the  lower 
strata  can  only  be  dubiously  explained.  They 
say  heat  of  no  great  intensity,  with  water, 
under  high  pressure,  would  metamorphose  the 
rocks.  By  their  hypothesis,  the  cooling  had 
progressed  ages  before  down  to  about  two  hun- 
dred degrees, — too  low  for  any  such  effect  upon 
rocks,  and  the  cooling  must  have  still  farther 
progressed  millions  of  years  before  the  eroded 
matter  could  have  amounted  to  a  sufficiency  for 
such  stratifications  as  they  find  had  been  meta- 
morphosed. Whence  could  have  come  the  heat 
for  metamorphosing  several  miles  in  depth  of 
the  lowTer  strata  of  the  earth's  surface? 

This     reference    to     their    hypotheses     and    ex- 


158     Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

planations  is  without  any  design  of  adverse 
criticism,  but  is  made  only  to  set  forth  the 
difficulties  under  which  they  have  labored  in 
having  no  firm  basis  for  so  early  geological  re- 
searches. Indeed  they  do  not  claim  to  have 
had  any  satisfactory  basis  for  scrutiny  of  phe- 
nomena of  those  early  ages  of  the  world. 
Their  geological  history  begins  with  a  later 
period.  They  can  now  date  that  history  back 
to  the  very  beginning  of  rock  stratification. 
Having  discovered  a  true  basis,  wonderful  in 
its  outlines,  harmonious  in  its  proportions,  and 
surprisingly  fruitful  of  good  results,  they 
will  be  conscious  of  a  new  inspiration,  leading 
them  through  attractive  fields  to  rich  and 
abundant  harvests. 

The  effect  of  working  on  the  true  basis  will 
be,  to  give  a  new  interest  to  every  order  and 
species  of  rocks — to  every  stratum  and  forma- 
tion— to  the  wondrous  metalliferous  veins,  and 
their  origin — to  the  various  colored  granites, 
marbles,  and  other  tinted  rocks ;  and  an  ab- 
sorbing interest  in  the  world  transforming  pro- 
cess by  which  materials  were  ground  out,  pre- 
pared, sorted,  and  deposited  by  the  Supreme 


Effect  of  Working-  on  the  True  Basis.    159 

Muster  Builder,  with  a  completeness  that  baf- 
fles man's  skill  to  imitate,  and  even  his  capacity 
to  comprehend.  They  will  at  last  have  found 
a  history  that  records  its  own  beginning  in 
rock  formation.  They  will,  with  lively  interest, 
recognize  the  process  of  transformation  that 
converted  the  barren .  globe  into  a  land  of  fer- 
tility and  abundance,  luxuriating  in  beauty  and 
fragrance ;  a  land  teeming  with  life  abounding 
and  exultant  with  joy  atfd  singing ;  a  land  in 
which  man,  having  dominion  given  him  over  all 
the  earth,  finds  therewith  everything  needful  for 
his  sustenance  and  enjoyment,  with  every  facility 
for  his  advancement  and  enlightenment. 

All  this  transformation  and  preparatory  world 
endowment ,  is  briefly  comprised  in  the  Mosaic 
account : 

' i  And  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters." 

Let  us  examine  the  efl'ects  of  erosive  action 
in  the  production  of  rock  materials  by  the 
system  of  gradual  erosion  of  granite  surfaces. 
The  first  deposits  must  have  been  eroded  from 
the  surfaces  of  the  uplifted  granite  globe  crust 
of  very  limited  extent.  All  the  heavier  pro- 


160    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

ducts,  whether  subaqueous,  or  subaerial,  would 
be  deposited  near  the  shore.  The  lighter, 
of  much  less  volume,  would  extend  farther 
out,  in  diminishing  proportions.  An  interval 
of  greatly  prolonged  time  must  have  elapsed 
before  there  would  be  even  a  narrow  border 
prepared  out  of  such  materials  for  an  uplift. 
Many  such  intervals  must  have  passed,  many 
such  shore  deposits  have  been  made, — always 
similar  in  form.  In  that  system  all  sediment- 
ary rocks  must  have  partaken  of  that  character 
of  formation,  heavier  debris  and  large  bulk 
inshore,  and  lighter  bulk  of  fine  materials  farther 
out.  There  would  have  been  no  eruptions  from 
beneath  the  surface,  for  only  the  unbroken  globe 
would  have  been  there.  Had  that  S3Tstem  pre- 
vailed, to  the  extent  of  forming  successive 
strata,  the  universality  of  such  process  of  rock 
formation  would  have  been  traceable  in  the 
lower  rock  strata  in  many  localities.  There 
would  have  been  no  parallel,  nor  nearlv 
parallel  strata  of  sedimentary  rocks  of  great 
extent,  such  as  are  found  everywhere  in  the 
undisturbed  lower  strata.  Parallelism  charac- 
terized all  the  earliest  rock  strata  of  great 


Fertility  Versus  Sterility.  161 

depth  giving  unquestionable  evidence  of  a 
world-wide  simultaneous  process  of  rock  build- 
ing. The  more  fertile  elements,  detached  from 
the  sand  in  the  transmutation  process,  and  de- 
posited largely  on  the  surface,  giving  it  special 
value,  constitute  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
bulk  of  the  strata  of  which  the  chief  ingredient 
is  sand.  This  very  desirable  apportionment 
of  the  elements  comprising  the  earth's  crust 
could  not  have  been  procured  by  any  other 
process. 

By    the    process    of    gradual    erosion,     and    as 
gradual     depositions     of     products,     the    heavier, 
coarse  portions  near    the    shore,   and   the   lighter, 
but    more    fertile,   farther    out;    there   would    not 
have    been    a    uniformly   fertile    surface,   but  belts 
of    only    scant   fertility,    parallel    with    the   shore. 
The     fertile    elements    would     not   be    mainly   on 
the    surface,    but     would     be    distributed   through 
the    depths    of     a     stratum.      Consequently    there 
would  be    but   a    low    average    of   fertility  on  the 
surface.       The     prominent    characteristics    of     soil 
so    prepared    would    be    narrowness   and    sterility. 

One   of    the    best   evidences   of    the   transmuta- 
tion   process   is    sand.     The   abundance   of    it   tes- 
-11 


162    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

titles  to  the  all  pervading  action  of  steam  power 
throughout  the  debris  several  miles  in  depth  of 
granite  fragments  enveloping  the  globe.  The 
molten  globe  beneath  the  debris,  with  a  tem- 
perature varying  but  little  from  forty-five  hun- 
dred degrees,  propelled  the  steam  with  impetu- 
ous force  through  the  ocean  of  sharp  frag- 
ments, angular  boulders,  and  cutting  sands, 
without  cessation  or  much  abatement  of  heat 
till  consolidation  of  the  lower  metamorphosed 
strata  commenced,  and  became  gradually  im- 
pervious to  water  ;  which  was,  however,  through 
a  very  long  period. 

The  most  abundant  product  of  all  that  com- 
motion was  sand.  After  being  finely  ground 
and  washed,  triturated  and  Avashed,  polished  and 
washed,  divested  of  all  metallic  and  other " sub- 
stances and  washed,  it  yet  had  no  rest,  but 
constantly  circulated  and  accumulated,  till  in  the 
final  allotment  it  was  assigned  to  its  positions, 
or  service, — everywhere.  It  is  well  known  to 
be  a  principal  ingredient  of  the  chrystalline 
rocks  of  the  Archaean  strata,  miles .  in  thick- 
ness, and  the  most  prominent  in  the  lower  red 
sandstone,  and  upper  red  sandstone — yet  there 


An  Immensity  of  Sand.  163 

is  no  diminution  of  its  presence  in  the  upper 
strata.  There  are  mountains  in  which  sand  is 
prominent,  there  are  hills  of  sand,  banks  of 
sand,  sand  moving  rivers,  sand  throughout  the 
soils,  sand  on  the  plains  everywhere  ;  and, — lest 
the  world  be  overwhelmed  with  sand,  and 
ruined  ;  the  overplus  was  stowed  away  on  the 
deserts  of  Sahara,  Asia,  Australia,  and  other 
wide  regions  ;  no  continent  without  its  deserts 
of  sand,  sand,  sand. 

It  never  would  have  appeared  in  large  quan- 
tities in  its  present  form  after  the  slow  erosive 
process  of  forming  rock  materials.  It  could  not 
have  been  subjected  to  one-hundredth  part  of 
the  developing  process  through  which  it  did 
pass  during  a  violent  agitation  of  thousands,  or 
millions  of  years  duration. 

The  universal  prevalence  of  sand  testifies  forci- 
bly to  the  instrumentality  of  that  world  envel- 
oping sand  factory,  without  which  no  such 
amount  of  it,  in  its  present  distinctive  form, 
could  ever  have  been  developed.  In  a  system 
of  gradual  erosions  of  igneous  granite,  the  en- 
tire amount  would  have  been  small ;  and  select 


164    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

materials,  if  found  in  separate  existence,  could 
only  be  in  small  quantities. 

While  it  is  true  that  rocks  formed  from 
sorted  materials  are  very  abundant  in  later 
stratifications,  it  is  in  consequence  of  having 
derived  abundant  materials  from  the  former 
world -enveloping  stratification.  There  could  have 
been  no  such  result  from  the  scant  products  of  the 
slow  erosion  of  igneous  granite.  The  materials 
would  not  have  been  so  thoroughly  prepared  by 
grinding  them  through  periods  inconceivably 
long.  The  quantities  would  have  been  dimin- 
utive, as  well  as  the  quality  inferior.  Even 
nature  requires  good  materials  for  good  work, 

It  is  of  weighty  import  that  the  various  ma- 
terials would  not  be  assorted  and  transported, 
each  to  separate  deposits  of  the  same  sort,  but 
would  be  so  commingled  that  if  a  pure  min- 
eral or  rock  material  of  any  kind  were  re- 
quired, it  could  not  be  found.  Very  few  of 
the  useful  and  ornamental  rocks  would  have 
been  known. 

We  may  not  be  able  to  describe  the  process, 
by  which  materials  are  so  assorted  in  the  world- 
enveloping  transmutation  factory  that  large  quan- 


Assorting  Minerals.  165 

titles  of  each  are  deposited  together,  farther 
than  that  it  was  accomplished  by  means  for 
simultaneous  attrition  of  debris  of  the  full  vol- 
ume of  the  earth's  crust  by  one  very  pro- 
tracted operation. 

Various  minerals  were,  by  long  continued 
trituration,  completely  separated  from  dissimilar 
matter,  and  by  the  specific  gravity  of  each,  its 
level  in  the  ocean  of  waters  determined  ;  near 
which  they  were  held  in  suspension,  moving  as 
they  were  attracted  by  their  various  affinities, 
toward  certain  localities  where,  as  the  entire 
mass  became  quiescent,  they  finally  settled  as 
they  were  most  artistically  grouped,  each  par- 
ticle among  others  chiefly  of  its  own  nature. 
It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  cooling 
and  quieting  process  was  extremely  slow — at  the 
rate  of  one  degree  in  several  thousand  years, 
giving  time  for  gradual  grouping  and  settling 
of  materials  in  the  ocean  of  debris  according 
to  their  affinities. 

The  fact  that  so  much  time  was  given  to  the 
operations  of  preparing,  sorting,  grouping  and 
depositing  the  materials  destined  for  future  use ; 
that  it  was  done  on  a  world-comprising  scale, 


166      Trans  form  at  ion  of  the  Earttis  Crust. 

and  with  a  grandeur  of  completeness  that  only 
a  Supreme  Master  Builder  of  worlds  could  com- 
mand ;  should  not  be  permitted  to  escape  out- 
most attentive  consideration. 

Grateful  emotions  of  adoration  well  become  a 
worthy  appreciation  of  the  wonders  of  creation 
thus  far  feebly  portrayed  ;  as  well  as  of  the 
farther  unfolding  of  the  marvellous  achievements 
of  preparation  of  the  earth  for  the  abode  of 
an  order  of  intelligences  that  were  to  be  en- 
dowed with  the  image  of  their  Creator. 

_  o 

It  is  possible,  and  even  probable,  that  at  the 
time  of  the  rending  of  the  earth's  crust,  the 
surface  had  become  somewhat  undulating,  as  well 
as  also  the  surface  of  the  molten  mass  beneath, 
to  correspond  with  the  form  of  the  upper  sur- 
face, and  that  when  the  rending  of  the  hard 
crust  was  completed,  and  the  entire  globe  was 
again  in  a  fluid  state,  the  undulations  of  the 
surface  of  the  viscous  molten  body  beneath  the 
rocky  debris  were  preserved. 

The  first  contact  of  the  water  with  the  mol- 
ten mass  would  cause  its  surface  to  solidify 
speedily,  thus  forming  a  floor  for  the  sea  of 
surging  debris  above  it.  The  extraction  and 


Metals  Extracted  and  kiored.  167 

assembling  of  the  metals  was  a  process  requir- 
ing a  very  long  time.  They  therefore  found  a 
floor  which  had  been  wisely  prepared  to  receive 
them.  Had  that  floor  been  unvarying — quite 
level,  the  deposition  of  metallic  ores  might  have 
been  uniform  over  it,  but  probably  it  was  not, 
and  in  the  long  continued  agitation  of  the  mass 
of  fragments,  the  metals,  being  the  heaviest, 
fell  to  the  floor,  and  in  settling,  were  gathered 
in  the  depressions  of  it.  Of  veins  that  rise 
from  the  floor  of  the  then  surging  mass  of 
fragments,  now  the  lowest  limit  of  the  strati- 
fled  rocks,  only  those  that  rise  from  the  de- 
pressions where  the  ores  are'  deposited,  become 
metalliferous  veins. 

While  the  earth  was  in  a  gaseous  condition, 
the  metallic  particles  were  inappreciably  small 
and  light,  and  would,  in  such  proportions,  be 
joined,  while  solidifying,  to  other  particles'  form- 
ing the  granite.  While  in  the  fluid  or  molten 
condition,  any  aggregation  of  such  particles  hav- 
ing appreciable  weight  might  gravitate  toward 
the  center  of  the  globe,  possibly  beyond  the  lim- 
its of  the  primitive  solid  crust.  Hence,  if  so, 
the  remaining  ores  from  which  were  gathered 


108    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

the  supplies  now  to  be  found,  were  those  atoms 
that  were  so  light  as  not  to  add  materially  to 
the  weight  of  the  grains  of  other  matter  to 
which  they  were  attached. 

Compared  with  the  mass  of  granite  in  which 
they  were  disseminated,  the  proportion  of  met- 
als was  so  inconsiderable  that  by  no  other 
means  could  they  have  been  assembled  than  by 
the  world-enveloping  process  of  mining,  in 
which,  by  one  long  continued  operation,  the  full 
volume  of  the  globe  crust  was  broken  up,  pul- 
verized, tossed,  triturated,  and  filtered ;  and  the 
metallic  atoms  chemically  metamorphosed,  assem- 
bled by  the  attraction  of  their  affinities,  com- 
bined, and  so  stored  in  the  depressions  of  the 
floor  of  the  fragmentary  crust  that  they  could 
be  elevated  through  metallic  veins,  and  ren- 
dered accessible  to  the  industry  of  man. 

An  alert  mind  will  readily  discover  the  alter- 
native to  which  man  would  have  been  subjected 
under  any  gradual  erosion  of  the  earth's  granite 
crust.  The  proportion  of  metallic  ores  would 
have  been  so  small  that  their  presence  would 
never  have  been  detected.  No  metals,  used  so 
extensively  by  man  would  have  been  known  ; 


Parallel  of  Metals  and  Honey.  169 

none  for  the  construction  of  instruments  to  be 
used  for  his  advancement  in  useful  arts.  The 
history,  or  rather  the  tradition  of  man  would 
have  been  that  of  a  "stone  age," — an  age  of 
barbarism,  ignorance  and  degradation.  For  a 
test  of  these  assumptions,  take  a  block  of  igneous 
granite  from  which  the  ores  have  not  been 
extracted,  extract  them,  and  say  whether  the 
metals  in  it  would  ever  have  been  discovered. 

The  assembling  of  metals  from  their  dissem- 
inated state  in  the  original  granite  during  the 
transformation  of  the  earth's  crust  has  a  beau- 
tiful parallel  in  organic  life  in  the  gathering 
of  honey  from  its  dissemination  among  flowers. 
Probably  man  would  never  have  known  of  its 
•existence,  had  not  provision  been  made  by  nature 
for  the  extraction  and  gathering  of  the  nectar 
of  flowers  by  the  busy  bee,  and  the  storing  of 
it  in  form  and  quantities  accessible  to  him. 
Both  the  metals  and  the  honey  are  valuable 
commodities,  which  having  existed  in  imperceptible 
quantities,  are  extracted  by  natural  processes, 
and  brought  to  the  knowledge  and  benefit  of 
mankind. 

The     controlling     influence    which    the    use    of 


170      Trans  format  ion  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

metals  wields  over  our  progress  and  our  des- 
tinies demands  for  them  more  than  a  passing 
notice.  A  thought  of  the  dire  deprivation  the 
world  would  have  suffered  in  the  alternative  of  a 
i  <  stone  age, ' '  suggests  a  recital  of  some  of 
the  benefits  derived  from  the  use  of  metals. 
They  form  a  constituent  part  of  every  con- 
venient appendage,  and  of  every  necessary  ad- 
junct of  our  existence.  Whether  waking  or 
sleeping,  at  work  or  at  play,  they  are  essential 
to  our  enjoyment,  and  our  progress.  The  ma- 
chinery by  the  aid  of  which  fields  are  cultivated 
and  crops  gathered ;  and  that  used  for  all  man- 
ufacturing purposes,  and  pursuits  of  pleasures ; 
all  vociferate  their  achievements  and  their  indis- 
pensableness  when  compared  with  the  alternative 
of  a  "  stone  age."  The  world- wide  extension 
of  commerce,  facilities  for  rapid  travel,  means 
of  universal  enlightenment  through  printing, 
electrical  appliances  for  motor  power  for  light- 
ing, and  news  carrying  over  the  wide  world  ; 
these,  and  all  other  business  enterprises  of 
every  name  and  nature,  depend  upon  the  use 
of  metals  beneficently  extracted,  provided,  and 
stored  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  in  the  trans- 


"Stone  Age"  Alternative.  171 

mutation  process  when  "  the  Spirit  of  God 
moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters."  Does 
not  His  all-controlling  providence  in  the  mighty 
work  call  for  our  grateful  recognition  ? 

Life  in  a  "stone  age"  has  been  well  illus- 
trated in  the  discoveries  njade  of  such  existence 
in  caves,  wherein  stone  implements  and  bits  of 
crockery  are  mingled  with  bones  of  animals 
that  had  served  for  food.  Clothing  consisted  of 
skins  of  animals.  Furniture,  conveniences  for 
comfort,  and  literature  were  unknown. 

Such  would  have  been  the  dismal  existence 
and  plight  of  the  world's  inhabitants  following- 

JL         O  O" 

a  system  of  slow  erosions  of  the  earth's  crust 
and'  of  shore  deposits  of  materials  ground 
slowly  out  of'  the  hard  granite  ;  conditions  that 
excite  in  us  mingled  feelings  of  commiseration 

o  o 

and  disgust,  from  the  consideration  of  which 
we  cheerfully  turn  for  relief. 

In  a  system  of  accumulations  of  strata  by  a 
process  of  slow  erosion  of  the  granite  crust? 
the  continents  and  lands  would  be  developed  in 
a  degree  to  which  the  ' '  stone  age ' '  life  that 
was  to  vivify  them  would  be  justly  proportioned, — 
both  of  narrow  limits,  unattractive  and  barren. 


172    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

This  treatise  has  had  no  reference  to  any 
geological  changes  that  have  occurred  in  the 
surface  of  the  earth  since  the  advent  of  organic 
life  upon  it,  or  since  the  first  upheaval  of  por- 
tions of  the  earliest  transformed  surface. 

The  period  referred  to  in  this  chapter  may 
be  described  as  beginning  with  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  globe  in  a  solid  form,  when  the 
nebulous  matter  from  which  it  was  produced 
had  developed  mainly  into  a  heavy  molten  de- 
posit, and  water — the  water  being  driven  by 
the  intense  heat  of  the  globe  Jar  above  it. 

A  period  may,  for  the  purpose  of  analytical 
investigation  be  said  to  extend  from  that  be- 
ginning to  the  time  of  the  settling  of  the  wa- 
ters upon  the  globe,  an  interval,  probably,  of 
not  less  than  five  millions  of  years,  the  num- 
ber of  millions  depending  upon  the  time  of 
separation  of  the  nebulous  earth  ring  from  the 
concentration  of  heat  in  the  sun. 

A  second  period  would  extend  from  the  time 
of  the  descent  of  the  waters  upon  the  globe  to 
that  when  its  heat  was  so  reduced  that  the  agita- 
tion of  the  waters  ceased,  and  the  parallel  strat- 


Long  Intervals  of  Time. 


ification    of    all    the    rocks    beneath    the  water  was 
completed. 

Impossible  as  it  is  to  state  the  degree  of  heat 
of  the  earth  at  the  time  of  the  completion  of 
its  form,  or  the  rate  of  its  reduction,  it  will 
yet  be  edifying  to  make  some  estimate.  An  un- 
assisted mind,  passing  the  matter  over  without 
a  thought,  might  fail  to  conceive  of  the  peri- 
ods as  having  great  length,  or  of  the  statement 
of  their  existence  as  having  much  importance. 
By  means  of  the  consideration  of  long  intervals 
some  of  the  most  important  discoveries  have 
been  made. 

The  present  rate  of  radiation  of  heat  from 
the  earth  has  been  estimated  at  one  degree  in 
thirty-two  thousand  years.  But  radiation  is  now 
through  a  porous  crust,  exceedingly  slow.  It 
must  have  been  much  more  rapid  while  the 
earth  was  in  a  molten  condition  and  unpro- 
tected. If  we  make  the  radiation  rate  more 
than  ten  times  as  rapid,  say  one  degree  in 
three  thousand  years,  the  cooling  would  be  at 
the  rate  of  a  thousand  degrees  in  three  millions 
of  years.  One  million  of  years  being  beyond 
all  human  power  of  conception,  something 


174     Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

may    be   apprehended    of   the    length    of   time    re- 
quired    for     cooling     the     newly    formed     earth. 
The     estimate     of     the     degree     of    heat   of   the 
globe    must    be    subject     to    the     process    of     its 
separation    from    the    body    of    the    sun.      If    the 
entire   nebula    was  early  separated    from    the  sun, 
the    temperature    of   the    earth    may  not   have  ex- 
ceeded   five    thousand    degrees,    and   the   time    of 
cooling    the    globe    down    to    thirty-six    hundred 
degrees,    the    temperature    at   which,    it    may    be, 
would    admit    of   the    descent   of    water    upon    it, 
may    be    supposed    to    be    about    six    millions    of 
years.       But    if    the    ring    of    the    outside    planet 
was   thrown    off    from    the    nebula   first,    and    the 
others     successively    at    long     intervals,     the    ex- 
panding   heat    of    the    central    mass    being    con- 
stantly   imparted    to    the    portion    of    the    nebula 
from     which     the     smaller     inside     planets    were 
formed,    would   greatly  intensify  the    heat    of    the 
earth,   perhaps  to    nine    thousand    degrees,   requir- 
ing twenty-one   millions    of   years   to    prepare  the 
globe  for    the    descent   of   water    upon    it.     Were 
allowance  made  for    more   rapid    radiation    of    the 
higher    degrees    of    heat,    the    period    of    cooling 


Second  and  Third  Periods.  175 

would  be  reduced,  but  it  would  not  change  the 
force  of  the  illustration. 

During  the  second  period,  that  of  cooling  the 
globe  from  about  thirty -six  hundred  degrees 
down  to  about  one  hundred  degrees,  the  porous 
transformed  crust  of  the  globe  would  conduct 
heat  less  rapidly  from  the  central  molten  mass. 
Indeed  it  is  so  poor  a  conductor  that  the  heat 
escapes  but  slowly.  Only  the  shallow  surface, 
therefore,  required  cooling  to  a  degree  requisite 
for  organic  existence  upon  it,  but  with  lower 
temperature  there  came  also  a  slower  rate  of 
cooling,  and  ten  millions  of  years  would  prob- 
ably not  be  an  extravagant  estimate. 

All  the  elevations  and  subsidences,  the  denuda- 
tions, and  local  stratifications  that  have  contrib- 
uted to  the  later  variations  of  the  earth's 
surface  belong  to  a  still  later — a  third  period 
of  the  earth's  history,  during  the  latter  part 
of  which  organic  life  has  flourished  and  left 
its  history  in  the  rock  formations  of  its  period. 
The  second  period  should  not  be  confounded 
with  the  later  one,  nor  its  stratifications  with 
those  of  the  latter.  The  duration  of  each  period 
was  several  millions  of  years.  That  of  the 


176     Transformation  of  1he  Earth's  Crust. 

former  is  measured  by  the  cycles  of  time  re- 
quired for  cooling  the  globe  from  a  temperature 
of  several  thousand  degrees  down  to  one  of 
less  than  one  hundred,  during  which  the  rend- 
ing of  the  entire  surface  of  the  globe,  and  its 
parallel  stratification  were  effected ;  that  of  the 
latter  is  traced  in  the  records  of  the  cycles  of 
life  that  are  perpetuated  in  the  tale-bearing 
rocks,  comprising  the  time  of  remolding  of  the 
earth's  surface  by  erosi  ns,  denudations,  sub- 
aqueous deposits,  and  local  stratifications. 

The  transformation  at  the  close  of  the  second 
period  prepared  the  materials  for  an  abundant 
remolding  of  the  earth's  surface  during  the 
later  period.  The  stratified  rocks  of  great  depth 
were  far  more  rapidly  eroded  than  the  unbroken 
igneous  granite  would  have  been.  In  every 
fresh  upheaval  of  the  transformed  surface, 
stratified  rocks,  hard  and  soft,  were  exposed  to 
erosion,  hence  the  materials  for  the  local  sedi- 
mentary deposits  of  the  later  period  were  very 
abundant,  and  the  transformations  occurring 
during  that  period  have  been  so  rapid  that  all 
the  forces  by  rains,  frosts,  and  ocean  Avaves 
are  required  to  account  for  it,  with  the  sub- 


Two  Systems  of  Stratification.          177 

terranean  eruptions,  and  the  work  of  icebergs 
and  glaciers  does  not  come  amiss  to  make  up 
he  amount. 

In  this  connection  it  will  be  instructive  to 
note  a  contrast  in  results  of  erosions  between 
the  indestructible  mountain  sunynits  of  igneous 
granite,  and  instances  of  stratification  in  which 
forty  thousand  feet  in  depth  have  been  removed 
by  the  ordinary  processes  of  denudation. 

Some  fossilliferous  parallel  stratifications  of 
considerable  extent  may  be  found,  bearing  some 
resemblance,  in  form,  to  those  of  the  former 
period.  Such  coincidences  may  be  found,  but 
coincidences  are  so  common  in  all  lines  that 
careful  investigators  will  not  be  misled  in  such 
a  case.  The  two  systems  are  indelibly  distinct, 
one  in  which  the  parallel  stratification  of  all 
the  transformed  crust  occurred,  and  the  other  in 
which  all  the  later  irregular  stratifications  have 
been  effected.  In  the  interval  of  millions  of 
years  between  the  conclusion  of  the  sediment- 
ary deposits  of  the  former  period,  and  the 
beginning  of  the  denudations  of  the  later  period 
occurred  the  hardening  of  the  surface  strata 

sufficiently    for    the    confinement    of    the    force    es- 
—12 


178     Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

sential  for  effecting  the  first  elevation  of  the 
surface  strata  above  the  ocean.  A  description 
of  that  force  will  be  given  farther  on. 

Among  the  economic  provisions  for  adapting 
the  earth  for  the  abode  of  man  is  its  envel- 
opment by  a  porous  crust  for  a  retention  of 
its  heat,  so  that,  during  its  occupancy,  the 
proper  degree  of  temperature  shall  be  main- 
tained. As  an  envelop  of  asbestos,  or  other 
non-conductor  of  heat,  serves  to  retain  heat  in 
a  steam  pipe,  so  the  envelop  of  porous  rocks, 
divided  into  innumerable  layers,  or  strata,  pro- 
cures a  long  continuance  of  the  internal  heat 
of  the  earth.  It  was  in  the  transmutation  pro- 
cess, when  the  entire  surface  of  the  earth  was 
converted  into  an  envelop  of  thirteen  miles  in 
depth  that  the  wise  and  beneficient  provision 
was  made. 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  effort  was  ever 
made  to  analyze,  step  by  step,  the  process  by 
which  the  amount  of  stratified  rocks  enveloping 
the  earth  could  have  been  produced  by  slow 
erosion  of  the  original  granite.  If  it  were  not 
beyond  the  capacity  of  the  human  mind,  it 
would  have  resulted  in  exposing  the  error  of 


Itesults  of  Transmutation  Process.       179 

the  generally  accepted  hypothesis,  as  this  treat- 
ise will  proceed  to  do.  It  will  be  gratifying 
to  find  a  more  comprehensible  substitute- -com- 
prehensible, not  in  its  immensity,  nor  in  its 
duration,  nor  yet  in  the  details  of  its  opera- 
tions, but  in  the  definiteness  ^  of  its  beginning 
and  ending,  the  completeness  of  its  work,  and 
its  suitableness  for  the  purpose  for  which  it 
was  designed. 

We  can  now  revert  with  pleasure  and  profit 
to  the  Mosaic  account. 

On  the  third  day  God  said,  "Let  the  dry 
land  appear,  and  it  was  so."  ^He  provides  al- 
ways bountifully.  In  the  transmutation  process 
the  entire  surface  of  the  globe  had  been  pre- 
pared when  ' '  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon 
the  face  of  the  waters,"  broken  up  several 
miles  in  depth,  and  a  finely  pulverized  specially 
fertile  surface  prepared  from  select  materials 
taken  out  from  the  entire  depth.  Wherever  the 
land  should  appear  there  was  no  lack  of  prep- 
aration. 

The  land  that  did  appear  may  have  been  that 
broad  expanse  that  covered  ' '  a  large  part  of 


180    Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

Labrador  and  Canada,  and  far  to  the  north- 
west, probably  to  the  Arctic  ocean,  at  least 
forty  thousand  feet  in  thickness,"  and  probably 
more  than  one  hundred  thousand  square  miles 
in  extent.  Dry  land  of  like  character  appeared 
on  other  parts  of  the  globe  about  the  same 
time. 

"And  God  called  the  dry  land  Earth,  and 
God  saw  that  it  was  good." 

The  dry  land  that  appeared,  to  which  we 
have  referred,  corresponds  so  well  in  character 
to  much  that  appeared,  apparently  about  the  same 
time  ;  and  to  all  other  lands  raised  subsequently 
from  a  great  depth,  that  it  is  highly  probable, 
wherever,  in  any  part  of  the  world,  dry  land 
of  such  extent  and  thickness  could  have  been 
raised  to  view,  it  would  have  shown  the  same 
general  character  and  formation.  In  other  words, 
that  dry  land  was  a  sample  of  the  crust  of 
the  earth,  under  water,  as  it  existed  over  the 
entire  surface  of  the  globe. 

When  we  consider  the  immense  thickness  of 
it — eight  miles  or  more  brought  to  view,  the 
general  character  of  uniform  stratification,  the 


Transmutation  Theory  Summarized.      181 

evidence  of  a  universal  process  of  sifting  and 
sorting  materials,  and  the  highly  metamorphosed 
condition  everywhere,  of  the  lower  strata,  the 
conviction  is  irresistible  that  the  phenomenal 
condition  of  the  earth's  crust  could  have  been 
produced  only  by  one  simultaneous  process  of 
transmutation  of  the  entire-  mass  while  subject 
to  great  heat. 

We  may  summarize  the  theory  of  the  trans- 
mutation process  thus  :  The  mass  of  ocean  wa- 
ters could  not ,  have  descended  upon  the  in- 
tensely heated  granite  crust  of  the  globe  with- 
out rending  it  into  fragments.  The  heat  of  the 
fragments,  together  with  the  heat  of  the  un- 
derlying mass,  causing  violent  agitation  of  the 
ocean  of  debris,  accounts  fully  for  the  universal 
prevalence  of  sand,  for  the  development  of  the 
world's  supply  of  metals,  and  for  the  world- 
wide generally  uniform  stratification  and  meta- 
morphosis of  rocks  enveloping  the  globe. 

The  discovery  of  the  transmutation  process 
goes  far  toward  overcoming  the  hitherto  insur- 
mountable mystery  of  the  origin  of  the  twelve 
miles  or  more  in  thickness  of  the  stratified 
crust  encompassing  the  earth. 


182     Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

Geologists  will  be  relieved  from  attempting  to 
explain,  by  former  theories,  the  mystery  of 
the  origin  and  existence  of  vast  extents  of 
stratified  rocks  of  immense  depth  at  a  pe- 
riod so  early  in  the  earth's  history  that 
those  lands  were,  apparently,  the  first  that 
appeared.  They  will  also  be  relieved  from  ex- 
plaining by  what  process  the  stratified  rocks, 
miles  in  thickness,  became  highly  metamorphosed 
with  heat — the  source  of  heat  being  inexpli- 
cable. 

They  will  also  be  relieved  from  explaining1 
how  the  entire  crust  of  the  earth  could 
have  been  so  exposed  to  slow  erosive  ac- 
tion as  to  produce  materials  for  stratified 
rocks  covering  the  globe,  ocean  beds  and 
all,  ten  to  twenty  miles  in  thickness. 

Discoveries  of  great  world  movements  are 
generally  received  with  incredulity.  It  is  espe- 
cially so  if  there  is  an  air  of  mystery  about 
the  phenomena  under  consideration.  The  chaotic 
period  of  the  earth's  formation,  in  particular, 
has  ever  appeared  to  be  so  involved  in  in- 
scrutable mystery  that  little  apparent  effort 
has  been  made  to  fathom  the  abyss,  and 


Prejudices  Overcome.  183 

overcome  the    difficulties    attending    the    investiga- 
tion   of    it. 

Mystery  still  so  sways  the  minds  of  some 
persons  that  they  will  fear  some  weakness  may 
be  developed  in  the  chain  of  evidences  of  the 
transmutation  process.  They  may  not  have  wit- 
nessed the  effect  of  throwing  Water  upon  in- 
tensely heated  granite.  Mere  assertion  of  the 
effect  will  not  compel  belief.  They  may  hinge 
upon  an  uncertainty  on  that  point  a  disbelief 
of  the  other  particulars  of  the  process.  'Let 
them  test  the,  heated  boulder  experiment.  One 
of  a  few  hundred  pounds  weight  might  be 
found  satisfactory,  but  water  would  rapidly  cool 
it,  while  it  could  have  had  no  cooling  effect 
upon  the  heated  globe.  Instead  of  a  loss,  there 
would  be  an  increase  of  heat  as  the  water 
progressed  downward,  till  it  encountered  a  tem- 
perature of  about  forty-five  hundred  to  forty- 
eight  hundred  degrees  at  the  lowest  limit. 

In  times  of  peace,  but  more  openly  in  war 
times,  Christian  governments,  and  Christian  peo- 
ples acknowledge  their  dependence  upon  the 
Mighty  Ruler  of  the  destinies  of  nations,  and 


184     Transformation  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

ascribe  honor  to  Him  for  displays  of  His  power 
and  goodness. 

Shall  men  engaged  in  the  study  of  His  won- 
derful works,  observant  and  fully  conscious  of 
His  mighty  achievements  within  their  compre- 
hension, and  of  many  beyond  their  intellectual 
capacity,  be  found  careless  of  rendering  unto 
Him  the  honor  due  to  His  great  name  ? 

' i  Thou  sendest  forth  thy  Spirit,  they  are 
created :  and  Thou  renewest  the  face  of  the 
earth."  Ps.  CIV.,  30. 

< '  Oh  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for 
His  goodness,  and  for  His  wonderful  works  to 
the  children  of  men."  Ps.  CVIL,  8. 


CHAPTER  V.' 


ELEVATIONS.     VOLCANOES. 


Mid  earthquake  thunders  and  volcanic  roar 
Shall  hoary  mysteries  reveal  their  lore. 


An  investigation  of  volcanoes,  earthquakes,  and 
elevations  requires  a  more  minute  examination  of 
the  phenomena  of  the  transmutation  of  the 
earth's  crust,  and  a  deeper  diving  into  the 
hoary  mysteries  of  its  formation. 

If  we  estimate  the  temperature  at  the  time 
of  the  descent  of  water  upon  the  globe  at  three 
thousand  and  six  hundred  degrees,  and  the  radi- 
tion  of  heat  one  degree  in  one  thousand  years, 
with  a  gradual  decrease  of  rapidity  in  cooling, 
five  millions  of  years,  more  or  less,  would  have 
been  consumed  in  the  cooling  of  the  surface 
down  to  two  hundred  degrees,  at  which  point 


186  Elevations. 

the  agitation  of  the.  water  would  have  ceased, 
and  the  parallel  stratifications  would  have  been 
completed,  beneath  its  depths.  The  expenditure 
of  heat  could  not  be  at  a  uniform  rate,  but 
continually  decreasing.  The  rate  given  may  be 
taken  as  an  average.  Then  the  average  rate  of 
one  degree  in  thirty  thousand  years  for  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  degrees  down  to  the  tem- 
perature of  the  present  age  gives  four  and  a 
half  millions  of  years,  a  period  of  time  that 
demands  our  attention. 

These  estimates  of  lapses  of  time,  and  of 
the  number  of  degrees  of  the  heat  of  the  earth 

O 

are  not  assumed  as  being  correct.  They  may 
be  largely  increased  or  diminished  without  det- 
riment to  the  argument  for  the  succession  of 
occurrences  relating  to  the  formation  of  the 
earth' s  crust . 

It  may  be  assumed  confidently  that  the  cooling 
progressed  through  several  millions  of  years, 
during  which  the  parallel  stratification  of  the 
Laurentian  system  was  effected,  while  the  heat 
was  still  too  great  for  the  introduction  of  ani- 
mal life. 

As  soon  as  moderate  abatement  of    the  extreme 


Investigating  Stratifications.  1ST 

agitation  of  rocky  fragments  had  permitted  a 
deposit  of  the  lowest  stratum,  it,  being  porous, 
began  to  intercept  the  heat  rising  from  the  un- 
broken mass  below. 

Much  difficulty  is  encountered  here  in  search- 
ing  for  published  accounts  •  of  those  intervals. 
They  appear  never  to  have  been  thoroughly 
explored.  Search  is  made  in  vain  for  accounts 
showing  the  dividing  line  between  parallel  and 
irregular  stratifications  ;  where  the  former  leaves 
off,  and  the  latter  begins.  The  existence  of 
the  line  appears  never  to  have  been  recognized, 
We  find  accounts  of  the  Laurentian  systemy 
more  than  forty  thousand  feet  in  depth  of 
parallel  stratification  brought  to  view  in  which 
no  signs  of  organic  life  appear. 

Then  above  that  system  appear  the  Silureant 
and  other  systems  in  which  are  found  organic 
remains,  but  no  account  appears  of  parallel 
stratifications  of  great  extent  in  them. 

It  is  desirable  to  find  the  dividing  line.  It 
may  be  presumed  that  no  organic  life  appeared 
on  the  globe  till  the  temperature  was  lower 
than  two  hundred  degrees,  and  probably  not 
before  it  fell  to  about  one  hundred. 


188  Elevations. 

Stratification  in  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  of 
rocky  fragments  may  have  followed  upon  a 
moderate  abatement  of  the  violent  agitation  of 
the  water,  while  the  temperature  was  still  much 
above  the  boiling  point.  The  pressure  of  the 
great  depth  of  the  mass  of  fragments  was  tre- 
mendous, and  may  have  forced  a  deposit  while 
the  agitation  of  the  water  was  yet  lively.  Then 
the  deposit  being  porous,  upon  attaining  a  con- 
siderable thickness,  would  begin  to  confine  the 
heat  of  the  central  mass.  Additional  deposits, 
.always  porous,  would  follow  upon  a  farther  re- 
duction of  heat.  Thus  the  internal  heat  was 
gradually  more  and  more  closely  confined — bot- 
tled up,  as  it  were,  and  retained  for  the 
maintenance  of  an  even  temperature  through  a 
long  period  for  the  benefit  of  organic  life  upon 
the  earth. 

Deposits  continued  to  be  made  and  strata 
formed  through  all  the  cooling  of  the  trans- 
muted crust,  about  twelve  miles  in  thickness, 
«o  that  when  the  temperature  of  two  hundred 
degrees  was  reached,  and  a  few  centuries  had 
elapsed  since  the  constant  agitation  of  boiling 


All  Stratifications  Once  Parallel 

water   had   ceased,    there    remained     little    or    no 
sediment   in    the    water    to    be  deposited. 

All  the  stratifications  were  parallel  down  to 
this  point  of  the  earth's  history  which  is  writ- 
ten in  the  rocks,  and  forms  a  record  for  our 

• 
interpretation.       We   may   assume    positively  that 

down  to  about  that  time  there  had  been  no 
elevations  of  the  surface.  They  were  caused  by 
the  action  of  steam  beneath  surfaces  of  great 
firmness  and  resistance,  and  the  stratifications 
had  been  yet  so  plastic  that  steam  could  read- 
ily escape  through  them.  No  rocks  could  much 
earlier  have  become  hard  enough  under  the 
heated  ocean  to  form  a  resisting  body  of  a 
thickness  and  firmness  that  is  essential  to  the 
elevation  of  any  extension  of  level  land  surface. 
The  unbroken  foldings  of  metamorphosed  rocks 
of  parallel  strata  indicate  clearly  that  during  the 
ages  that  the  earth,  by  contraction  was  effect- 
ing those  contortions,  the  rocks  were  yet  in 
plastic  condition.  Even  in  recent  geological 
times,  mountains  have  been  elevated  by  internal 
force  in  such  form  that  evidently  the  entire 
depth  of  strata  beneath  them  was  yet  in  a 
plastic  state.  Such  occurrences  have  generally 


190  Elevations. 

been  in  or  near  mountain  ranges,  where  the 
surface  had  been  repeatedly  broken.  They  seem 
to  corroborate  the  assumption  that  great  firm- 
ness of  external  or  surface  rock  strata  is  essen- 
tial to  the  uplifting  of  extensive  portions  of 
Ihe  earth's  surface.  Where  such  firmness  is 
wanting,  steam  will  force  its  way  through  the 
plastic  strata,  or,  its  force  will  be  expended  in 
the  elevation  of  a  mountain.  There  is  little 
doubt  that,  at  the  depth  of  a  few  thousand 
feet  of  undisturbed  parallel  strata  retaining  a 
high  temperature,  the  rocks  are  still  plastic. 

Had  the  surface  of  the  earth  remained  un- 
broken, according  to  the  hypothesis  heretofore 
accepted,  during  all  the  ages  of  its  cooling  from 
three  thousand  degrees  down  to  two  hundred 
degrees,  the  cooling  must  have  been  at  a  nearly 
uniform  rate  throughout  the  globe — the  surface 
cooling  only  as  the  entire  body  cooled,  and  the 
globe  being  one  unbroken  very  compact  mass. 
It  has  been  estimated  that  it  would  have  con- 
sumed fifteen  millions  to  twenty  millions  of  years. 

In  strong  contrast  of  cooling,  the  stratified 
or ust  now  recognized,  being  porous,  minutely 
divided  and  separated  by  seams  or  strata  beds, 


Confinement  of  Heat  Saves  Time.        191 

and  therefore  a  slow  conductor  of  heat  which 
it  confines  so  closely  that  comparatively  little 
cooling  beside  that  of  the  broken  crust,  about 
thirteen  miles  in  depth  was  required.  Even  of 
that  thickness  the  outer  surface,  being  lightly 
porous,  served  to  confine  the  heat  of  the  lower 
strata.  Every  stratum  with  its  bed  checked  the 
flow  of  heat  rising  from  the  next  one  below, 
so  that  when  the  surface  was  cooling  down  to 
two  hundred  degrees  but  little  heat  could  es- 
cape from  the  unbroken  body  of  the  globe, 
and  the  estimate  of  time  required  for  cooling 
the  porous  crust  may  be  reduced  to  three  mill- 
ions or  four  millions  of  years.  A  farther  re- 
duction to  the  temperature  of  the  present  time 
may  be  said  to  have  occupied  a  period  of  equal 
length — a  period,  however,  which  must  comprise 
the  full  continuance  of  organic  life  on  the  earth, 
which  has  generally  been  estimated  at  far  great- 
er length.  It  refers  to  a  period  too  modern 
for  the  scope  of  this  work. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  beside  preparing  a 
very  extensive  fertile  surface  for  cherishing  or- 
ganic life  in  its  very  beginning,  preparing  a 
deep  crust  of  the  earth  for  rapid  transformation 


192  Elevations. 

by  denudation  and  restratification,  preparing  a 
porous  envelop  for  preserving  a  uniform  tem- 
perature of  the  globe  during  its  occupation  by 
the  human  race,  and  preparing  a  supply  of 
metals  for  promoting  the  arts,  comforts,  and 
advancement  of  civilization;  the  transmutation  of 
the  earth's  crust,  as  described,  served  also  to 
economize  the  service  of  the  sun  to  the  extent 
of  several  millions  of  years  by  expediting  the 
cooling  of  the  earth's  surface  subsequently  to 
rending  the  crust.  Indeed  acceleration  of  prep- 
aration has  been  a  prominent  characteristic  of 
every  feature  of  the  movement. 

It  may  be  well  to  remark  while  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  slow  transmission  of  heat  through 
the  porous  crust  of  the  earth,  that  in  conse- 
quence of  it  during  the  long  glacial  epoch,  the 
earth  did  not  probably  suffer  the  loss  of  heat 
to  a  very  great  depth,  and  on  the  departure 
of  the  glaciers,  the  closely  confined  heat  of  the 
globe  had  not  much  coldness  of  the  crust  to 
overcome  in  restoring  an  enlivening  warmth  to 
the  surface. 

From  the  beginning  of  rock  stratification 
steam  had  been  escaping  through  dikes  that 


Fissures.  193 

became  innumerable,  each  extending  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  deposits  of  its  day.  The  unpunc- 
tured  strata  above  them  was  formed  later. 

The  natural  course  of  the  escape  of  steam 
from  a  bubble  formed  by  it  is  by  a  yielding 
and  rising  of  the  mass  above  it,  followed  by 
a  puncture  of  the  rising,  through  which  the 
steam  passes.  Impervious  strata  on  the  surface 
prevent  the  rising  over  the  bubble, — no  puncture 
or  fissure  is  formed.  Some  apparent  exceptions 
to  this  are  found  however,  where  the  impervious 
strata  were  light,  and  somewhat  yielding. 
Former  punctures  were  opened,  or  new  ones 
formed  under  them,  and  the  lava  raised  up 
through  the  fissures  was  spread  out  under  the 
solid  strata. 

The  cooling  of  the  sea  and  the  surface  be- 
neath it  from  two  hundred  degrees  down  to  a 
temperature  sufficiently  moderate  for  the  intro- 
duction of  organic  life, — one  hundred  degrees 
more  or  less,  may  have  required  four  millions 
of  years,  or  more,  if  the  body  of  the  globe 
was  to  be  cooled  proportionately,  or  less  than 
half  as  long  if  only  the  transformed  crust  was 

to    be    cooled.      But   a    much     greater     diminution 
-13 


194  Elevations. 

of   time    is    possible.     The  globe  had  yet  an  even 
surface,    wholly    under    water. 

The  upper  strata,  to  a  considerable  depth, 
were  composed  of  the  sediment  that  had  re- 
mained longest  afloat,  the  finest  and  lightest  of 
all  the  material  produced  from  the  trituration 
of  the  entire  mass  of  the  globe's  former  crust. 
They  were  therefore  extremely  porous,  and 
adapted  to  prevent  the  transmission  of  heat,— 
better  adapted  than  was  the  bed  of  lava  that 
retained  a  burning  heat  one  hundred  years.  It 
may  therefore  be  a  reasonable  estimate  that  the 
water  and  the  surface  beneath  it  would  have 
become  one  hundred  degrees  cooler  without 
affecting  the  temperature  at  a  greater  depth 
than  two  or  three  miles.  The  rate  is  suggestive 
of  the  adaptability  of  the  porous  crust  of  the 
earth  for  confining  the  heat  of  the  entire  mass 
closely,  and  it  tends  to  justify  the  estimate  of 
a  temperature  of  fifteen  hundred  degrees  at  a 
depth  of  thirteen  miles. 

The  estimate  of  the  time  required  for  the 
reduction  of  the  temperature  of  the  surface  to 
a  condition  adapted  to  the  introduction  of 
organic  life  may  thus  be  greatly  reduced — reason- 


T\vo  Systems  of  Stratification.          195 

ably  to  less  than  one  million  of  years.  At  the 
close  of  that  period  the  surface  rock  strata 
TV  on  Id  have  become  hardened  to  a  depth  and 
firmness  not  to  be  easily  broken  into  frag- 
ments nor  punctured  by  any  internal  uplifting 
force  engendered  beneath  it.  Therefore  the  ap- 
plication of  adequate  elevating  force  would,  if 
closely  confined,  result  in  causing  the  surface  to 
appear  above  the  water. 

The  time  comprised  in  hardening  the  upper 
strata  preparatory  to  an  extensive  uplift  of  land 
comprised  the  interred  that  separated  the  two 
systems  of  stratifications,  the  parallel  and  the 
irregular.  That  which  had  been  the  molten . 
mass  beneath  the  broken  crust,  would,  in  the 
passage  of  millions  of  years,  have  become  a 
massive  rocky  under  crust  of  the  globe,  which 
though  still  plastic,  would  have  unfailing  sup- 
port, and  sufficient  firmness  to  be  unyielding  to 
the  power  of  steam  that,  formed  above  it, 
pressed  the  transmuted  crust  upward  through 
the  sea. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  trans- 
muted crust  was  probably  not  yet  hardened  to 
any  great  depth,  but  that  one  or  two  thousand 


196  Elevations. 

feet  downward  from  the  surface  it  was  still 
plastic,  was  still  subject  to  contraction.  Doubt- 
less to  the  present  time,  in  many  places,  at 
the  depth  of  a  few  thousand  feet  the  earth  is 
yet  in  a  plastic  condition. 

It  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  no  animal  life 
preceded  vegetable  life  on  the  globe,  as  it  is 
not  adapted  to  the  use  of  exclusive  mineral 
food.  A  soil  being  essential  to  vegetation,  no 
organic  life  could  have  preceded  the  uplifting 
of  land  above  the  sea. 

It  is  pertinent  to  observe  here  that  under  the 
theory  of  the  transmutation  of  the  earth's  crust 
the  uplifted  land  presented  a  fertile  soil,  well 
adapted,  after  being  cleansed  of  the  saline  prop- 
erties of  sea  water,  to  the  immediate  support, 
as  rapidly  as  it  could  be  introduced,  of  an 
abundant  vegetable  growth,  which,  in  turn  gave 
support  to  equally  vigorous  animal  life. 

In  the  transmutation  process  every  new  ele- 
vation presented  a  soil,  not  only  containing  all 
the  elements  essential  to  the  sustenance  of  vi<*- 

o 

orous  organic  life,  but  it  was  also  adapted,  by 
rapid  denudation,  for  the  production  of  immense 
deposits  in  the  sea  for  the  irregular  stratifica- 


Vast  Time  Intervals.  197 

tions  which  were  to  follow,  by  which  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  has  since  been  repeatedly  re- 
modeled. An  inexhaustible  supply  of  materials 
for  such  sedimentary  accumulations  has  been  fur- 
nished, not  only  by  the  loose  soils,  but  by  the 
easily  disintegrated  rocks  of  the  full  depth  of 
the  transmuted  crust  of  the  earth. 

Is  it  not  due  to  the  progress  of  science  along 
the  expansive  sweep  of  her  geological  province 
that  in  the  cooling  of  the  earth  from  its  mol- 

o 

ten  condition  down  to  one  of  fitness  for  the  in- 
troduction of  organic  life  (which  has  ever  been 
a  blank),  the  mighty  intervals  should  be  recog- 
nized, as  well  as  the  work  of  preparing  the 
earth  by  transforming  its  surface  from  a  sterile 
rock  to  one  of  fertility  and  capacity  for  sus- 
taining an  infinite  variety  of  organic  life, 
stored  with  ample  deposits  of  metallic  treas- 
ures,— developed  and  rendered  temptingly  ac- 
cessible to  the  industry  of  man  ?  In  recog- 
nition of  the  honor  due  to  the  work  and 
to  science,  the  discussion  proceeds  with  care- 
ful circumspection  among  the  mysteries  of 
the  unexplored  past  with  the  hope  of  mak- 
ing satisfactory  progress  in  unraveling  them. 


198  Elevations. 

If  the  time  estimated  for  the  reduction  of 
the  temperature  from  two  hundred  degrees 
to  about  one  hundred  degrees  be  thought 
too  liberal,  comparison  may  be  made  with 
the  later  interval,  that  of  the  subsequent 
cooling  down  to  the  present  time  in  which 
is  comprised  all  the  past  history  of  organic 
life  upon  the  globe,  the  lowest  estimates  of 
which  are  from  sixteen  millions  to  thirty 
millions  of  years.  In  that  interval  the  tem- 
perature has  fallen  not  to  exceed  fifty  de- 
grees, at  the  rate  of  one  degree  in  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  to  six  hundred  thou- 
sand years.  That  being  the  average  rate  for 
the  interval,  the  cooling  would  be  far  advanced 
in  the  long  early  part  of  it.  The  expenditure 
of  heat  in  the  latter  part  of  it,  during  the  oc- 
cupation of  the  globe  by  an  intelligent  race, 
may  possibly  be  fully  compensated  by  heat  de- 
rived from  the  sun. 

Unknown  causes  appear  to  have  produced 
fluctuations  in  the  temperature,  temporarily,  in 
periods  of  one  or  two  thousand  centuries ;  for 
instance,  torrid  heat  in  a  polar  zone,  by  which 
that  region  became  stocked  with  tropical  an- 


Fluctuations  in  Temperature.  199 

imals,  followed  suddenly  by  frigid  extremes  ex- 
tending from  the  polar  zone  far  into  a  tem- 
perate zone,  holding  it  ice  bound  through  a 
glacial  epoch  of  one  or  two  thousand  centuries, 
and  yielding  in  turn  to  the  enlivening  warmth 
of  the  present  habitable  period  of  the  earth's 
existence.  It  is  therefore  difficult,  if  not  im- 
possible, to  ascertain  the  present  rate  of  cool- 
ing the  earth's  surface.  The  fluctuations  men- 
tioned are  probably  due  to  external  causes, 
one  of  which,  a  possibility,  has  been  suggested  in 
a  former  chapter,  that  of  the  earth  having  been 
left  out  in  the  cold  by  the  shrinking  of  the 
nebula  around  the  sun. 

It  may  be  that  by  the  removal  of  the  cause 
of  the  extreme  cold  of  the  glacial  epoch,  and 
the  consequent  reaction  toward  a  rising  temper- 
ature, to  be  followed  again  by  the  average  fall- 
ing temperature  of  the  globe  surface,  a  longer 
period  of  nearly  uniform  temperature  would  be 
derived  from  a  constant  average  of  heat. 

It  appears  not  to  be  certainly  known  whether, 
during  the  glacial  epoch,  the  fall  of  tempera- 
ture prevailed  over  all  the  earth,  or  only  over 
the  northern  zone.  The  former  would  be  the 


A  tfy^V 

OF   THF 

UNIVERSITY  I 


200  Elevations. 

condition  if  it  were  exposed  to  outward  frigid- 
ity by  the  shrinkage  of  the  nebula  that  en- 
closed it. 

Until  the  heat  of  the  watery  surface  had 
fallen  considerably  below  the  boiling  point,  even 
below  one  hundred  degrees,  the  air  must  have 
been  constantly  filled  with  steam  and  consequent 
rains.  In  the  progress  of  farther  cooling,  the 
rising  vapors  would  constantly  diminish  till  their 
presence  would  be  imperceptible,  and  the  space 
of  clear  air  between  the  water  below  and  the 
clouds  above  that  was  named  in  Gen.  L,  7  : 
"And  God  made  the  firmament,  and  divided  the 
waters  which  were  under  the  firmament  from  the 
waters  which  were  above  the  firmament :  and 
it  was  so. ' ' 

The  dividing  the  waters  below  from  the  wa- 
ters above  was  therefore  a  very  long  process. 
There  were  consumed  in  it  millions  of  years, 
•during  which  the  plastic  strata  of  rocks  beneath 
the  water  had  become  so  hardened  that  steam 
rising  from  below  *  could  no  longer  puncture 
them  and  escape.  Being  confined,  it  began 
gradually  to  elevate  the  transformed  crust  through 
the  sea  :  the  waters  began  to  recede — to  be 


Vegetable  and  Animal  Life.  201 

< i  gathered  together  into  one  place ' '  till  the 
land,  rising  through  them,  appeared,  and  may 
have  been  the  dry  land  that,  by  the  Mosaic 
record,  appeared  on  the  third  day.  Thus  it  ap- 
pears that  the  better  understanding  we  get  of 
the  order  of  the  genesis  of  the  earth,  the  more 
fully  we  find  it  to  correspond  with  the  divinely 
given  account  written  by  Moses,  an  account 
that  no  man,  unassisted,  could  have  had  the 
wisdom  to  render. 

As  the  next  essential  step  after  the  elevation 
of  the  land,  and  in  the  same  Mosaic  "day," 
the  earth  brought  forth  grass,  and  green  herbs, 
and  trees  bearing  fruit ;  these  being  for  the 
support  of  animal  life. 

As  in  some  great  eras  mentioned,  so  also 
those  in  which  vegetable  and  animal  life .  were 
introduced,  and  made  to  possess  the  earth,  too 
little  attention  has  been  bestowed  upon  their 
amazing  length. 

The  earliest  vegetation  was  doubtless  of  those 
species  that  could  best  endure  a  high  tempera- 
ture with  extreme  humidity.  Rising  vapors  and 
falling  showers  were  inevitably  prevalent  under 
those  conditions.  There  were  no  birds  or  other 


202  Elevations. 

animals  to  assist  in  'the  distribution  of  plants. 
It  could  only  be  effected  naturally  by  means  of 
winds  and  waters.  There  were  no  vegetable  fer- 

o 

tilizers  to  quicken  the  growth  of  vegetation  till 
the  scanty  products  of  its  own  dissolution  sup- 
plied them.  Thus  slowly,  while  ages  rolled 
away,  were  feeble  primitive  species  distributed 
over  extensive  areas  while  other  varieties,  adapted 
to  better  conditions,  introduced  in  successive 
order,  were  widely  disseminated  only  by  sim- 
ilar slow  processes. 

Before    the    introduction    of    animal    life,    vege- 

'  O 

table  food  must  needs  have  become  abundant — 
not  merely  on  the  surface — the  soil  would  need 
to  be  saturated  and  enriched  by  it,  so  that 
when  the  atmosphere  became  adapted  to  such 
animated  life,  food  should  be  everywhere  abun- 
dant. The  first  and  simplest  forms  of  animated 
life  had  but  scant  locomotive  powers,  and  were 
not  capable  of  extensive  foraging  for  food.  It 
must  needs  have  been  everywhere  ready  for 
their  use.  Animal  life  must  also  need  to  have 
become  equally  abundant  while  progress  was  made 
in  animating  the  world  with  it,  as  every  order 
was  destined  to  become  food  for  a  higher 


EJWS  Require  Studious  Attention.         '20& 

grade.  Each  successive  species  required  long  in- 
tervals of  time  for  natural  increase  and  roving: 
occupation  of  extensive  regions.  A  careful  recog- 
nition of  the  long  succession  of  generations  of 

> 

vegetable  and  animal  life  would  give  an  intima- 
tion, not  only  of  the  intervals  and  the  aggre- 
gate of  the  periods  they  have  occupied,  but  of 
the  possibility  of  life  having  filled  all  the  long: 
eras  claimed  for  it  by  geological  authors. 

Though  the  rate  of  the  cooling  the  earth  in> 
the  successive  periods  can  never  be  known,  yet 
there  is  advantage  in  giving  some  estimates  for 
the  purpose  of  outlining  the  order  of  events  as 
they  occurred,  for  the  advantage  of  recognizing: 
the  two  systems  of  stratification,  and  the  order 
of  their  occurrence,  as  well  as  the  succession! 
of  the  introduction  of  vegetable  and  animal  life. 

Beyond  the  knowledge  to  be  gained,  there  i» 
benefit  to  be  derived  from  attempting  to  con- 
ceive and  estimate  those  periods — to  retrospect- 
ively fill  in  the  mighty  jachievements  as  they 
were  accomplished,  for  with  the  expansion  of 
the  mind  in  repeated  efforts,  ever  onward  and 
upward,  to  span  the  incomprehensible  eras,  it 
may  acquire  a  sublime  sense  of  the  deep  sig- 


204  Elevations. 

nificance  of  the  greatest  of  all'  intervals, — from 
everlasting  to  everlasting. 

Man,  subservient  to  his  Master's  will,  humbly 
trains  his  intellectual  powers  to  grasp  the  mys- 
teries of  the  universe.  Reason  honors  herself 
in  her  efforts  to  scale  the  dizzy  heights  of  her 
empyrean  province,  and  even  the  loftier  realms 
of  genius,  rejoicing  in  her  supremacy.  Man 
prides  not  in  his  success,  but  is  rather  humbled 
by  a  consciousness  of  his  comparative  littleness. 
As  his  Master  may  expect  of  him,  with  assid- 
uous effort  he  discovers,  though  tardily,  what 
has  been  accomplished  for  him  in  the  begin- 
ning and  along  down  through  the  mysterious 
ages. 

As  the  supposed  earliest  elevations  of  land  of 
Canada,  Labrador,  and  other  places  consist  of 
parallel  strata  in  which  no  trace  of  organic  life 
is  found,  it  may  be  presumed  that  all  irregular 
stratifications  having  such  trace  are  of  later 
date,  and  that  all  organic  life  has  had  only  a 
subsequent  existence,  covering,  as  has  been  esti- 
mated, at  least  sixteen  millions  of  years.  Has 
it  not  been  clearly  shown  that  no  organic  life 
could  ever  have  existed  in  those  parallel  strata 


Investigation  of  Errors.  205 

because  they  were  formed  while  their  tempera- 
ture was  above  two  hundred  degrees — far  too 
great  to  render  any  life  possible? 

The  unbroken  globe  rock  hypothesis,  universally 
accepted,  has  gained  a  hold  so  tenacious  from 
long  possession  that  repeated  efforts  and  sturdy 
blows  may  be  required  to  overcome  its  errors. 
They  must  not  be  withheld  though  they,  may 
involve  many  repetitions  for  the  benefits  to  be 
derived  from  various  connections. 

By  the  theory  that  has  prevailed,  all  that 
forty  thousand  feet  of  parallel  strata  must  have 
been  previously  produced,  and  by  erosions  only 
from  hard  rock. 

It  may  be  repeated  that  probably  no  per- 
sistent effort  was  ever  put  forth  to  estimate 
the  time  that  would  be  required  for  producing 
strata  of  that  depth.  Waiving  the  estimate  of 
the  time  required,  let  us  inquire  if  such  accu- 
mulations were  possible. 

While  the  globe  was  an  unbroken  rock,  water 
could  not  penetrate  under  any  portion  of  the 
surface  to  cause  an  uplift  of  it  by  the  power 
of  steam.  The  only  elevations  of  surface  above 
the  ocean  would  -be  narrow  ridges  caused  by 


206  Elevations. 

the    contraction   of    the    srlobe.      But    even     those 

o 

ridges  would  not  appear  above  the  ocean  till 
long  after  a  hard  crust  of  considerable  thick- 
ness was  formed  under  the  water,  an  item  to 
be  carefully  noted  and  retained,  which  occur- 
rence would  only  follow  a  reduction  of  the 
surface  temperature  to  a  degree  too  low  for 
the  generation,  near  the  surface,  of  power  suf- 
ficient to  elevate  islands  or  continents.  The  un- 
broken globe  having  no  porous  shell  to  confine 
its  heat,  its  surface  could  only  cool  as  the  tem- 
perature of  its  mass  was  uniformly  lowered, 
and  that  to  a  low  degree  before  the  crust 
would  begin  to  throw  up  ridges  through  and 
above  the  water,  and  they,  when  elevated,  could 
be  only  single  ridges. 

There  could  be  no  elevations  of  wide. extent,  for 
there  would  be  no  cavities  below  wherein  to 
form  an  uplifting  power.  The  only  surfaces 
that  would  ever  be  exposed  to  erosion  would 
be  the  elevated  narrow  ridges.  It  will  readily 
be  seen  that  merely  the  summits  of  a  few  nar- 
row ridges  could  not,  in  the  life  of  our  sun, 
furnish  material  for  the  stratified  crust  of  our 


Some  Studious  Speculations.  207 

globe,  nor  for  the  building  up  of  wide  conti- 
nents. 

In  many  millions  of  years  less  time  than  we 
have  estimated  for  the  beginning^  of  the  failure 
of  slow  erosion  to  prepare  a  world  for  the  in- 
troduction of  organic  life,  behold  the  entire 
earth  prepared  with  a  porous  crust  of  stratified 
rock,  about  thirteen  miles  in  thickness,  adapted 
to  the  support  of  vegetable  and  animal  life,  and 
supplied  with  abundant  deposits  of  metals  for 
the  benefit  of  mankind,  that  the  system  of  slow 
erosion  would  never  have  furnished. 

The  relations  that  the  mysteries  of  our  globe 
bear  to  our  subject  may  justify  some  studious 
speculations  in  regard  to  the  powers  by  which 
mighty  changes  are  effected.  We  observe  the 
mysterious  phenomena  in  great  variety,  the  most 
wonderful  in  their  operation,  as  well  as  the 
most  stupendous  in  their  effects  of  all  activities 
connected  with-  our  globe.  We  know  that  islands 
and  continents  are  elevated  by  means  of  some 
force  applied  beneath  the  surface,  the  examina- 
tion of  which  may  have  some  bearing  upon  our 
discussion  of  land  elevations.  We  have  for  our 
guidance  the  nature  of  the  materials  moved,  the 


208  Elevations. 

manner  of  their  moving,  and  the  effects  pro- 
duced. Something  is  known  of  the  forces  by 
which  the  moving  Js  effected,  and  of  the  laws 
that  govern  them.  It  remains  to  be  seen 
whether  nature  furnishes  brain  power  to  in- 
terpret and  explain  their  action. 

The  porous  crust  of  the  earth  has  become  so 
firm  and  unyielding,  and  its  mass  so  united  by 
contortions  of  strata  that  the  contraction  of  the 
interior  unstratified  body,  in  cooling,  would 
tend  to  leave  a  space  under  the  solid  outer, 
resting  unconformably  upon  the  unbroken  plastic 
inner  crust,  a  separation  in  which  steam  was 
ever  present  to  interpose  its  power  in  rendering 
the  space  permanent.  In  the  earliest  stages  of 
separation,  the  interior  body  being  chiefly 
molten;  as  it  settled  slowly  away,  affected  to 
unsteadiness  by  the  influences  of  the  tides, 
would  come  in  contact  with  the  concave  inner 
surface  of  the  stratified  crust,  the  effect  of 
which  would  be  a  semi-daily  dripping  of  the 
cavernous  space,  resulting  in  vast  accumulations 
of  stalactites,  which  would  be  so  connected  in 
some  directions  that  partitions  would  be  formed, 
the  joining  of  which  would  form  apartments  or 


Cavern  Power.  209 

cells,  which  would  be  of  all  forms  and  sizes, 
varying  in  extent  from  a  few,  or  &  few  hun- 
dred, yards  to  many  thousand  square  miles. 

Water  percolating  through  the  lipper  crust, 
might  reach  a  large  cell,  and  being  vaporized, 
the  steam  from  it  would  so  press  upon  the 
plastic  and  molten  mass  below  as  to  cause  it 
to  rise  in  and  fill  all  surrounding  vaporless  cells. 
Were  the  pressure  of  steam  to  be  increased, 
there  might  be  a  flow  of  matter  from  the 
molten  mass  through  volcanoes,  or  fissures, 
to  any  outlet  that  might  be  open, — to  a 
place  of  deposit  between  strata,  or  to  the 
outer  surface,  forming  an  eruption  possibly  at- 
taining to  vast  proportions.  If  no  vents  were 
opened,  the  increase  of  pressure  might  cause  an 
elevation  of  the  stratified  crust  over  the  cell, 
producing  an  island,  or  increasing  the  altitude 
of  a  former  elevation.  The  crust  of  the  earth 
may  long  since  have  become  so  rigid  as  to  be- 
come self-supporting,  so  that  upon  the  farther 
contraction  of  the  interior  mass,  the  cells  have 
increased  in  depth  and  capacity. 

Now    suppose   the    steam   pressure   in   a   cell  or 

cavern    to    be    such    as  to  elevate  the  earth    above 
— U 


210  Elevations. 

it  a  few  feet,  or  even  a  few  inches,  higher. 
The  bursting  of  a  wall  of  the  cell  would  cause 
an  instant  collapse  and  quaking  of  the  earth 
above  it,  more  or  less  severe,  possibly  to  the 
destruction  of  a  city,  or  the  submergence  of  a 
coast  by  overwhelming  ocean  waves. 

Light  shocks  of  earthquake  may  be '  caused  by 
escapes  'of  steam  without  the  breaking  of  walls, 
and  where  they  occur  daily  there  may  be  in- 
termittent causes.  The  application  ctf  steam 
power  in  infinite  variety,  and  frequent  change 
of  form  and  combination  of  cells  might  be  made 
to  account  for  every  kind  of  earthquake. 

This  one  floor  of  cells,  or  caverns,  or  power 
rooms  is  supposed  to  envelop  the  earth  between 
the  stratified  crust  and  that  of  the  unbroken 
mass,  the  interior  body  of  the  globe.  The 
division  has  been  mentioned  as  being  at  least 
twelve  miles  below  the  surface.  Hereafter,  in 
this  treatise,  for  brevity,  the  distance  below  the 
surface,  including  the  ocean,  will  be  said  to  be 
thirteen  miles,  which  is  supposed  to  be  about 
the  estimate  made  by  geologists,  of  the  average 
depth  of  the  stratified  crust  of  the  earth.  Its 
depth  below  the  surface  was  probably  nearly 


»S/OTF  Erosion  Process  Defective.          211 

uniform  as,  at  the  time  of  its  location,  when 
the  crust  was  broken  up  by  the  descent  of  the 
water  upon  it,  there  would  have  been  no  pre- 
vious local  or  limited  disturbances  to  render 
the  surface  uneven,  or  more  than  slightly  un- 
dulating. 

By  the  hypothesis  denominated  the  slow  ero- 
sion process  to  distinguish  it  from  the  transmu- 
tation process  herein  described,  there  is  no  ap- 
parent possibility  of  forming  extended  chambers 
beneath  the  surface  by  means  of  which  portions 
of  it  of  wide  extent  could  be  elevated  above 
the  sea.  The  first  sedimentary  deposits  would 
be  light  and  narrow. 

Long  before  any  could  be  formed  of  sufficient 
volume  and  firmness  for  the  purpose,  the  supply 
of  materials  for  forming  them  would  have  been 
exhausted  ;  the  temperature  would  have  been  too 
low  to  develop  the  necessary  power,  and  if  it 
were  developed,  it  could  only  be  used  success- 
fully at  greater  depth  than  immediately  under 
any  ocean  deposits  of  sediment. 

More  minute  explanations  of  the  supposed 
power  rooms  or  caverns,  their  formation,  tern- 


212  Elevations. 

perature,    and    various    uses    will    be   given    in  the 
following   pages. 

Involved  in  the  slow  erosion  hypothesis  are 
some  features  yet  unnoticed  that  will  be  found 
not  only  difficult  of  explanation,  but  even  sus- 
ceptible of  disproof.  The  inquiry  has  already 
been  made,  whence  came  the  materials  compos- 
ing the  earliest  known  elevations  of  land  on  the 
globe?  They  are  described  as  being  nearly  the 
whole  of  Canada  and  Labrador  and  other  exten 
sive  regions — at  least  forty  thousand  feet  (nearly 
eight  miles)  in  thickness  of  Laurentian  strata,  of 
which  strata  it  is  also  said  that  they  probably 
underlie  all  other  stratified  rocks,  and  comprise 
more  than  one  half  of  the  stratified  rocks  on 
the  globe. 

An  examination  of  the  supposed  condition  of 
the  globe  under  that  erosion  hypothesis,  having 
its  surface  unbroken  under  its  ocean  of  water 
will  render  it  doubtful,  not  only  that  so  large 
a  portion,  but  more  than  doubtful  that  any 
stratified  portion  of  it  could  possibly  have  been 
elevated  by  that  process. 

Only  as  the  entire  globe  cooled,  being  un- 
broken, could  its  surface  become  cooler.  There- 


Former  Hypothesis.  213 

fore  many  millions  of  years  must  pass,  during 
which  all  the  rock  composing  its  crust  would 
remain  in  a  plastic  condition  till  its  temperature 
was  reduced  to  about  fourteen  hundred  degrees 
F. ,  the  temperature  at  which  plastic  rocks  begin 
to  harden  in  cooling.  Water  acting  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  inviolable  rock  would  solidify  it  a 
few  inches  in  depth,  and  gradually  deeper  as 
the  heat  of  the  globe  diminished.  Upon  the 
contraction  of  the  body  from  the  loss  of  heat, 
the  crust,  while  thin,  would  become  finely 
wrinkled,  in  appearance  like  withered  fruit,  but 
upon  attaining  the  thickness  of  a  few  thousand 
feet,  the  wrinkles  would  be  fewer,  as  at  the 
present  time,  and  gradually  higher  till  they 
would  reach  the  surface  of  the  water.  At  the 
height  of  eight  thousand  feet  their  summits 
would  be  little,  if  any,  above  the  water. 

The  long  intervals  of  time  have  an  important 
bearing  upon  our  estimates  of  the  condition  of 
the  globe  while  it  was  in  preparation  for  the 
advent  of  organic  life  upon  it,  and  they  require 
our  attentive  consideration. 

Though  our  estimates  of  the  mysterious  oc- 
currences of  those  unhistorical  eras  must  be 


214  Elevations. 

largely  speculative,  the  periods  were  on  a  scale 
of  so  inconceivable  immensity  that  whatever  lim- 
its of  time  are  suggested,  wide  margins  re- 
main,— limits  might  have  been  vastly  extended, 
or  reduced.  To  omit  the  estimates  would  be  to 
neglect  the  occurrences,  a  mere  mention  of 
which  would  fail  to  procure  attentive  consid- 
eration. 

A  million  of  years  may  reasonably  be  allowed 
for  one  thousand  feet  of  elevation  of  ridges 
arising  from  the  cooling  of  the  body  of  the 
globe, — ^eight  millions  of  years  for  elevation  of 
them  eight  thousand  feet  through  the  water  to 
its  surface,  then  an  additional  period  of  eight 
millions  of  years  for  an  elevation  of  eight  thousand 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  which  may  be  the 
average  maximum  height  of  mountain  ranges. 
There  would  be  no  mountain  peaks  above  the 
ridges,  as  there  would  be  no  internal  forces 
to  uplift  them.  There  would  be  only  single 
narrow  ridges  for  erosion.  The  globe  being  a 
solid  rock,  unbroken  except  by  the  narrow 
ridges  on  the  cooled  surface,  could  contain  no 
uplifting  agent.  The  sediment  produced  from 
the  ridges,  were  they  ground  down  to  the  level 


Old  Hypothesis  Passes  Away.  215 

of  the  sea,  would  form  only  narrow  strata  at 
the  base  of  the  ridges,  mainly  under  water, 
there  to  remain,  for  what  force  could  elevate 
them  ?  No  uplifting  power  coulcj  be  applied. 
It  could  not  be  confined  between  the  strata  and 
the  ocean  floor.  It  is  confinable  under  thirteen 
miles  depth  of  stratified  rocks,  where,  with  in- 
conceivable power,  the  purpose  of  its  confine- 
ment is  effected,  be  it  the  elevation  of  a  con- 
tinent, the  eruption  of  a  .  volcano,  the  explosion 
of  a  mountain,  or  the  devastations  of  an  earth- 
quake. 

In  case  of  an  elevation,  it  may  be  made  per- 
manent by  the  injection  of  molten  matter,  of 
which  an  abundance  is  ever  procurable  at  that 
depth  below  the  earth's  surface.  But  strata 
raised  from  that  primitive  ocean  bed,  if  it  were 
possible,  would  leave  nothing  else  above  the 
solid  rock  floor  but  water  ;  nothing  would  be 
procurable  to  give  it  support  and  permanency, 
and  it  could  only  settle  again  to  its  bed  in  the 
ocean,  there  to  remain.  Water  being  only  on 
the  surface,  and  the  nearest  essential  degree  of 
heat  for  generating  the  force  requisite  for  an 
uplift  being  several  miles  below,  not  one  sedi- 


216  Elevations. 

mentary  stratum   could    be    raised    from  the  ocean 
bed.      Hence    there    could    be    no  denudations,   nor 
any    restratifications,    such    as    are    now    known. 
Having  failed  to   bear  the    light    of    a    studious 

O  o 

examination  of  conditions,  materials,  and  forces, 
thus  vanishes  the  hitherto  prevalent  hypothesis 
that  the  present  stratified  condition  of  the  earth's 
crust  has  resulted  mainly  from  gradual  erosions 
of  original  rock  surfaces  together  with  erup- 
tions from  within  the  globe.  There  could  have 
been  no  eruptions  from  an  unbroken  globe  crust. 

There  has  seemed  to  be  an  unwritten  law,  in- 
born and  reverential,  that  any  suggestion  of  the 
rocky  surface  of  our  globe  having  been  vio- 
lently broken  up  and  destroyed  at  the  begin- 
ning of  its  existence  would  be  sacrilegious  in- 
deed— not  to  be  entertained  even  in  thought. 

The  error  of  the  slow  erosion  hypothesis  be- 
ing evident,  it  may  be  permissible  to  indulge 
in  an  imaginary  appearance  of  the  result  of  an 
actual  working  out  of  that  process  on  our  globe. 
The  failure  to  bring  any  strata  to  view  leaves 
nothing  visible  but  the  stumps  of  eroded  ridges, 
the  tops  having  been  converged  into  sedimen- 
tary deposits  in  the  oceans.  Viewed  from  another 


Mars.  217 

planet,  the  ridges  might  appear  as  the  lines  on 
the  planet  Mars  have  been  said  to  appear  to 
our  astronomers,  who  have  spoken  of  them  as 
possibly  being  canals.  In  view  of>  this  explan- 
ation, it  may  be  suggested  that  the  planet  Mars 
has  been  developed  by  the  slow  erosion  process, 
and  that  the  lines  visible  are  the  remains  of 
ridges  caused  by  shrinkage  of  the  planet.  But 
under  like  conditions,  Mars  could  no  more  es- 
cape the  transmutation  process  than  could  the 
earth.  Its  surface  rock,  however,  might  be  so 
pliable,  and  of  so  loose  texture  as  not  to  be 
liable  to  breakage  when  suddenly  cooled  by  con- 
tact with  water.  Or,  its  supply  of  water 
might  be  so  small  that  it  could  be  held  aloft 
till  the  planet  was  so  cool  that  its  surface 
would  not  be  broken  by  the  accumulation  of 
water  upon  it.  In  the  latter  case  the  sediment 
from  the  ridges  might  so  fill  shallow  water  as 
to  cause  extensive  marshes  without  any  uplifting 
of  deposits.  In  either  case  the  planet  would 
present  a  very  even  surface,  unvaried  by  any 
mountainous  heights. 

The    prevalent   error    of   the    hypothesis    of    the 
slow    erosion   process  being  exposed  and  removed, 


218  Elevations. 

what  remains  but  to  accept  the  hypothesis  that 
the  intensely  heated  rock  was  broken  by  the 
water  falling  upon  it,  when  the  heat  of  the 
globe  could  no  longer  repel  it,  and  that  the  bur- 
den of  the  ocean-laden  clouds  descended  upon  it 
in  overwhelming  torrents  ?  By  no  other  hypoth- 
esis can  the  occurrences  attending  and  following 
the  stratification  of  the  earth's  crust  be  so  fully 
and  satisfactorily  explained. 

Assuming  that  readers  are  ready  to  acknowl- 
edge the  failure  of  the  popular,  and  the  verity 
of  the  hitherto  unpopular,  or  unknown,  hypothe- 
sis, there  follows  the  opportunity  of  becoming 
better  acquainted,  by  discussion,  with  the  inner 
construction,  and  the  operating  forces,  of  the 
earth's  crust. 

The  recognition  of  thirteen  miles  in  depth  of 
reconstructed  crust,  and  an  unknown  thickness 
of  an  unbroken  interior  crust,  is  a  starting 
point.  The  thickness  of  the  former  is  assumed  ; 
that  of  the  latter  is  a  subject  of  investigation 
in  regard  to  which  there  is  great  difference  of 
opinion. 

It  has  been  estimated  and  widely  published 
that,  owing  to  certain  counter  influences  of  the 


Thickness  of  the  Earth's  Crust. 

sun  and  moon,  the  earth  could  not,  with  a 
shell  so  thin  as  has  been  ascribed  to  it,  endure 
the  strain  to  which  it  is  subject,  and  that  it 
must  have  the  firmness  that  a  crtist  at  least 
eight  hundred  miles  in  thickness  would  give  it, 
It  may  be  replied  to  that  estimate  that  if  the 
globe  was  once  •  molten,  it  has  passed  safely 
through  every  degree  of  thinness  of  its  shell 
up  to  that  of  the  present,  and  has  endured  the 
strain.  To  say  that  it  cannot,  at  the  present 
time,  with  any  thinness  of  crust  ascribed  to 
it,  endure  the  strains  that  it  must  have  passed 
safely  through  to  attain  the  great  firmness  now 
said  to  be  essential  to  its  safety,  is  to  give 
greater  credit  to  a  plausible  array  of  figures 
based  on  human  estimates  than  to  an  unques- 
tionable fact  of  the  globe's  endurance. 

Numerous  faults  are  recorded  where  portions- 
of  the  solid  crust  have  been  raised  and  shoved 
by  adjacent  portions  from  which  they  were 
separated  only  by  a  seam,  in  some  instances 
hundreds  of  miles  in  length,  and  forty  thousand 
feet  in  thickness  brought  to  view,  and  the  earth 
has  survived  all  those  violent  wrenchings.  The 

o 

depth    of  those    faults    may     have    been     the    full 


220  Elevations. 

thickness  of  the  earth's  crust.  They  are  more 
explicable  under  a  thirteen-miles-thickness  of 
crust  than  in  a  solid  crust  eight  hundred  miles 
in  depth,  or  in  a  solid  globe,  molten  only  in 
a  few  scattered  seas. 

The  laws  that  control  rates  of  temperature 
.are  much  better  known  than  the  influences  of 
precession  and  nutation.  Where  the  various 
opinions,  based  on  the  influences  of  both  agents, 
.seem  to  b'e  in  conflict,  it  is  safer  to  follow  the 
best  known  guide. 

The  estimates  of  the  condition  of  the  earth's 
interior,  based  on  rates  of  temperature,  are 
made  on  the  assumption  that  the  temperature 
increases  from  the  surface  downward.  The  rate 
varies  greatly  in  different  localities.  The  aver- 
age may  be  said  to  be  not  far  from  one  de- 
gree for  every  fifty  feet.  Up  to  about  forty- 
five  hundred  degrees  the  crust  of  the  globe 
would  have  become  either  solid  or  plastic  rock. 
Above  that  degree,  taking  no  account  of 
pressure,  which  might  somewhat  change  the  re- 
sult without  affecting  the  argument,  the  interior 
would  be  liquid. 

In    making    an    estimate    of    the     thickness    of 


Ratios  of  Heat.  221 

the  crust,  regard  must  be  had  to  some  well 
known  laws,  as  well  as  to  certain  physical 
features.  The  increase  of  the  temperature  in 
proportion  to  depth  is  a  starting  '^Doint,  but 
only  that,  for  measurements  have  extended 
downward  only  about  eleven  hundred  yards, 
one-twentieth  of  the  thickness  of  the  stratified 
crust. 

However,  we  have  to  assume  some  rate,  and 
allowing  one  degree  for  every  fifty  feet  will 
give  an  approximate  result.  Including  fifty  de- 
grees surface  temperature,  that  rate  would  give 
fourteen  hundred  and  twenty-three  degrees  a& 
the  temperature  thirteen  miles  below  the  sur- 
face, at  the  division  between  the  porous,  and 
the  unbroken  crusts.  But  the  heat  would  be 
greater  in  the  proximity  of  the  interior  un- 
broken crust,  and  may  be  estimated  at  about 
fifteen  hundred  degrees.  Below  that  depth  an- 
other rate  of  increase  of  heat  should  be  recog- 
nized. 

The  interior  of  the  globe  may  be  assumed  to 
be  extremely  dense,  with  an  increase  of  den- 
sity to  the  center,  that  transmits  heat  rapidly. 
There  is  no  central  source  of  heat,  from  which 


222  Elevations. 

it  flows  out,  maintaining  a  rate  of  increase  uni- 
form from  center  to  circumference  of  the  cen- 
tral mass,  but  rather  a  tendency  to  uniformity 
or  balancing  of  heat  throughout,  a  continuous 
flow  of  the  pristine  heat  of  the  globe  outward. 
But  it  receives  a  check  in  the  porous  crust, 
which  serves  to  intercept  it  and  prevent  its  es- 
cape. Therefore  having  been  many  millions  of 
years  closely  bottled,  in  a  mass  so  dense  as  to 
permit  of  rapid  transmission  of  it  throughout 
its  volume,  it  would  have  continually  so  tended 
to  unformity  of  temperature  that  the  center, 
measured  by  a  radius  of  one  thousand  miles 
would  have  nearly  uniform  heat. 

In  the  volume  of  the  next  one  thousand  miles 
radius  the  degree  of  heat  would  be  a  little 
lower,  with  an  increasingly  lower  rate  to  the 
outward  limit,  its  contact  with  the  porous  crust, 
— a  variation  of  one  thousand  degrees  more  or 
less  from  the  center  outward.  The  greatest 
average  variation,  near  its  outward  limit,  might 
be  estimated  at  one  degree  for  three  hundred 
feet,  which  is  about  seventeen  degrees  in  a 
mile,  and  would  give  about  sixty- seven  miles  as 
the  average  thickness  of  the  interior  unbroken 


Thickness  of  the  Earth's  Crust.          223 

crust  of  the  globe.  To  that  add  thirteen  miles 
of  porous  crust,  and  the  estimate  of  the  en- 
tire thickness  of  the  earth's  crust  is  placed  at 
about  eighty  miles. 

Of  the  outer  portion  of  the  porous  crust  that 
is  reduced  in  temperature  to  fourteen  hundred 
or  less  degrees,  thus  attaining  to  brittle  hard- 
ness, the  average  thickness  may  be  about  seven 
miles.  Probably  a  greater  thickness  has  at- 
tained to  such  hardness  in  some  regions.  In 
others  the  phenomenal  pushing  of  new  volcanos 
through  the  crust  indicates  that  such  places  are 
plastic  nearly  or  quite  to  the  surface.  The 
nearly  seventy  miles  in  thickness  of  the  plastic 
part,  of  various  degrees  of  consistency,  from 
that  of  paste  to  that  of  pliable  rock,  as  a  sup- 
port for  the  solid  shell,  adds  greatly  to  the 
strength  of  the  crust.  It  may  bear  the  effect 
of  violent  counter  influences  better  than  it  would 
if  it  were  altogether  solid. 

This  estimate"  of  the  thickness  of  the  earth's 
crust  is  not  less  than  it  was  formerly  supposed 
to  be  till  the  confidence  of  men  in  it  was 
shaken  by  the  announcement,  in  effect,  that  it 
could  not,  with  a  crust  less  than  eight  hundred 


224  Elevations. 

miles  in  thickness  safely  withstand  the  conflicting 
influences  of  the  sun  and  moon.  A  number  of 
geologists  concurred  in  the  opinion. 

Then  having  begun  to  ignore  the  laws  of  tem- 
perature and  its  rate  of  increase,  it  was  easy 
for  them  to  conclude  by  adopting  the  hypothesis 
'  <  that  there  is  no  actual  central  fire,  but  only 
internal  seas  of  red  hot  molten  matter  scattered 
about  in  various  parts  of  the  inside  of  our 
planet,  situated  not  far  from  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  separated  from  one  another  by  masses 
of  solid  strata."* 

Red  hot  molten  matter,  known  to  be  hot 
enough  to  melt  through  the  sides  of  volcanoes 
of  great  thickness  when  thrust  up  into  their 
craters,  is  represented  by  them  as  composing 
seas  a  few  miles  beneath  the  surface,  "sepa- 
rated from  one  another  by  masses  of  solid 
strata."  Strata  confining  and  confined  with  mol- 
ten seas  of  the  same  substances  are  in  pasty 
condition,  and  can  hardly  be  supposed  to  with- 
stand, within  the  globe  without  melting,  a  con- 
tact with  molten  matter  that  melts  large  masses 
of  cold  mountain  rocks  above  the  surface. 

*From  "The  Earth."    Reclus,  p.  31. 


Crust  Wrenching  Beneficial.  225 

Internal  seas  of  red  hot  molten  matter,  and 
masses  of  solid  strata  that  separate  them  within 
and  far  from  the  surface  of  the  oarth  would 
have  the  same  temperature.  Is  not  the  suppo- 
sition that  they  exist  together  thousands  of  years 
in  such  form  and  connection  as  represented, 
unwarranted  .by  any  natural  analogies?  The 
hypothesis  of  a  solid  globe,  or  of  an  eight 
hundred  mile  thickness  of  crust  that  depends 
on  that  supposition  has  a  weakness  that  renders 
it  untenable. 

If  it  is  undeniable  that  there  may  be  wrench- 
ings  of  the  earth's  crust,  more  or  less  serious, 
arising  from  the  conflicting  influences  of  pre- 
cession and  nutation,  they  may  be  found  to  be 
beneficial  rather  than  dangerous.  The  processes 
of  elevations  and  subsidences  are  probably  aided 
thereby.  The  uplift  of  a  forty  thousand  feet 
depth  of  a  fault  may  have  thus  been  effected 
gradually  and  without  violence,  the  interior  lift- 
ing force  being  facilitated  by  the  writhing  con- 
tortions due  to  the  outward  disturbing  influences. 

Were  the  earth's  crust  otherwise  immobile, 
movements  of  it  by  unrestrainable  interior  forces 

might   more    frequently    be    abrupt     and     violent. 
—15 


22(5  Elevations. 

Wrenchings  of  the  crust  by  distracting  influ- 
ences, being  distributed  among  innumerable 
joints,  seams,  and  strata  beds,  and  thus  rendered 
imperceptible,  may  assist  in  relieving  the  great 
strains  produced  by  inward  pressure  and  con- 
duce to  its  stability  rather  than  to  its  derange- 
ment. 

As  the  transmutation  process,  which  may  have 
been  so  long  unrecognized  because  of  the  vio- 
lent rending  to  which  the  earth's  crust  was 
subjected  in  it,  has  proved  of  the  greatest  value 
to  it,  so  the  jostling  to  which  it  is  regularly 
subjected  by  the  influences  of  precession  and 
nutation  which  has  been  laboriously  estimated 
to  be  destructive  in  its  tendency,  may  prove  to 
be  a  regular  system  of  movements,  wonderfully 
arranged,  wisely  adapted  to  immunity  from 
catastrophes,  and  conducive  to  steadiness  of  its 
surface. 

After  the  earth,  in  its  transmutation,  had  be- 
come a  second  time  nearly  all  fluid,  it  settled 
again,  by  the  laws  of  gravitation  and  rotation, 
into  its  present  form,  and  if,  by  violent  wrench- 
ing, its  surface  could  again  be  disastrously  disar- 
ranged, it  would  certainly,  under  the  same  laws, 


Earth's  Form  Unchangeable.  227 

again  resume  the  same  form.  The  persistence 
with  which  it  holds  that  form  gives  assurance 

that   it   is   not    to    be    shaken   out   of    it.      There 

» 

will  be  no  danger  of  it  so  long  as  precession 
and  nutation  continue  their  steadying  influences. 
The  extremely  numerous  joints,  fractures,  and 
seams  that  render  the  writhings  of  the  crust 
harmless  have  doubtless  been  vastly  increased 
by  the  wrenching  process,  and  the  labor  of 
quarrying  rocks  has  thereby  been  greatly  dimin- 
ished. 

Estimates  of  the  temperature  of  the  earth's 
interior  at  various  depths  are,  and  must  ever 
remain,  largely  speculative.  Probably  no  two 
scientific  investigators,  working  separately,  would 
give  very  nearly  the  same  estimates.  It  is  de- 
sirable to  give  an  approximation  that  will  fairly 
represent  the  main  features  of  the  construction 
of  the  two  kinds  of  crust,  and  of  the  floor  of 
power  caverns  between/  them.  The  estimates  in 
this  treatise  are  offered  as  relating  to  the  suc- 
cession of  occurrences  and  the  resulting  condi- 
tion of  the  earth's  crust,  rather  than  for  a  scien- 
tific guide  to  temperature,  to  extents,  or  to 
intervals  of  time. 


228  Elevations. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  within  eighty  miles 
thickness  of  crust,  as  estimated,  may  be  found  the 
source  of  the  power  by  which  the  continents 
were  constructed,  and  the  forms  of  the  oceans 
defined.  It  would  not  be  found  within  the 
solid  stratified  crust,  for  no  sufficient  rooms  for 
the  confinement  of  the  tremendous  forces  em- 
ployed can  be  supposed  to  exist  there ;  nor 
within  the  unbroken  crust  below,  for  water 
cannot  be  supposed  to  have  found  entrance 
within  it.  But  between  the  stratified  and  the 
unstratified  crusts  is  a  natural  division  or  sepa- 
ration already  described.  It  is  hypothetically 
the  lowest  limit  to  which  steam  has  access,  and 
from  the  time  of  its  first  contact  Avith  the  mol- 
ten mass  when  the  rocky  crust  was  entirely 
broken  up,  steam  has  not  ceased  to  be  a  power 
there.  It  still  has  control,  varying  the  inward 
depth  of  the  caverns,  and  often  their  form 
otherwise. 

The  roof  of  a  cavern  is  much  strengthened 
by  its  formation  of  the  metamorphosed  and  con- 
torted lower  strata,  the  contortions  binding  them 
together  suitably  for  coherence*  and  permanence. 
The  strata  bed  beneath  it  is  the  limit  of  the 


Cavern  Forms.  229 

passage  of  steam  downward.  The  seam  between 
presents  naturally  a  division  in  which  a  com- 
partment may  be  readily  opened  for  the  con- 
finement of  steam  to  be  used  as  a  power. 
Being  divided  by  the  union  of  supporting  col- 
umns into  rooms,  or  caverns,  an  elevation  of 
the  surface  of  the  earth  above  would,  in  ex- 
tent, be  coterminous  with  the  power  room,  or 
connected  group  of  rooms  below. 

The  cavern  floor  may  be  entirely  within  the 
plastic  portion  of  the  earth's  crust — the  un- 
broken crust  beneath  and  a  contiguous  portion 
of  the  stratified  crust  above  being  within  the 
region  in  which  the  temperature  is  above  the 
degree  at  which  the  plasticity  of  rocks  is 
changed  to  brittle  hardness. 

The  continual  presence  of  steam,  however, 
may  have  the  effect  to  glaze  and  harden,  in 
some  degree,  the  upper  surface  of  the  rooms, 
and  especially  the  stalactitic  columns  constantly 
enveloped  in  the  steam.  Those  columns,  upon 
the  mighty  strength  of  which  the  permanence 
of  the  power  rooms  in  a  measure  depends,  may 
well  be  deemed  to  be  of  massive  proportions  in 
conformity  with  the  magnitude  and  solidity  of 


230  Elevations. 

their  environments.  The  partitions  between  the 
rooms,  composed  of  stalactites  joined  together,, 
would  especially  be  massive  and  of  great  strength. 

A  catastrophe  that  befell  Cutch,  in  India, 
affords  an  illustration  of  the  existence  of  those 
connected  columns.  A  very  large  tract  of  level 
land  sunk  a  few  feet,  becoming  marshy.  A 
bank  several  miles  in  length,  and  one  hundred 
and  sixty- four  feet  in  width  remained  across 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Indus,  nine  feet  in 
height,  indicating  the  form  of  a  column,  or  of 
a  close  room  in  the  cavern  below  that  pre- 
vented the  settling  of  that  bank  with  the  sur- 
rounding tract. 

The  phenomenal  subsidence  of  a  large  tract 
of  country,  the  occurrence  of  which  was  em- 
phasized by  the  remaining  well  defined  ridge 
within  the  tract,  nine  feet  in  height,  that  failed 
to  settle,  or  sunk  so  much  less  than  the  sur- 
rounding surface,  proves  not  only  the  existence 
of  a  support  sustaining  the  ridge,  but  aptly  the 
existence  of  a  cavern  underneath  the  large  tract, 
and  coextensive  with  it,  the  collapse  of  which 
caused  the  subsidence  of  the  land  surface. 

The    evidence    that    such    a    cavern    had    existed 


Power  Caverns  Incontrovertible.          231 

in  one  instance  tends  to  justify  a  theory  that 
the  innumerable  elevations  on  the  surface  of  the 
globe  have  been  produced  everywhere  by  means 
of  such  caverns. 

Is  it  not  evident  beyond  question  that  were 
there  a  single  fur  long  of  the  earth's  surface 

o  o 

under  which  a  cavern  did  not  extend,  it  would 
never  be  elevated  ?  There  being  logically,  then, 
no  longer  an  uncertainty  of  the  existence  of 
caverns  enveloping  the  earth,  it  remains  only  to 
contemplate  the  processes  by  which  the  eleva- 
tions have  been  effected  and  made  permanent. 

It  has  been  stated  that  of  necessity  for  the 
required  power,  such  caverns  must  be  at  a 
greater  depth  than  nine  miles.  The  one  ad- 
ditional proof  of  their  existence  justifies  the 
repetition  of  the  hypothesis  of  the  proba- 
ble location  of  them  at  the  base  of  the 
earth's  stratified  crust  at  a  depth  of  about 
thirteen  miles  below  the  ocean  surface. 

If  the  supposition  is  accepted  that  eleva- 
tions are  made  permanent  by  intrusions  of 
lava  from  the  unbroken  mass  beneath  the 
stratified  crust,  the  question  must  arise  whether 
in  a  succession  of  elevations  and  subsidences 


232  Elevations. 

the  .  inflated  caverns  are  located  above  the 
intruded  strata,  or  underneath  them.  Such 
elevations  and  depressions  are  known  to  have 
succeeded  each  other  more  than  seventy  times 
in  Nova  Scotia  during  the  Carboniferous 
period,  and  it  is  possible  that  all  great 
elevations  have  been  produced  gradually  by 
such  alternations  and  successive  intrusions  of 
lava  that  became  solidified  in  the  caverns.  Thus 
great  elevations  would  be  supported  by  a  mass 
composed  of  numerous  intruded  strata. 

The  process  by  which  lava  flowrs  upward  into 
a  cavern  may  not  be  described  with  much  con- 
fidence. The  immense  internal  pressure  by  which 
any  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  several  miles 
in  thickness  may  be  uplifted  would  seem  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  the  upward  flow  of  lava  into 
a  cavern  thus  formed. 

In  some  cases  of  subsidence,  and  also  of  dust 
eruptions,  circumstances  give  evidence  of  a  long 
continued  existence  of  caverns  in  which  the  in- 
ternal pressure  had  prevented  the  intrusion  of 
lava. 

It  is  possible  that  the  equilibrium  of  pressure 
is  so  nicely  adjusted  that  in  consequence  of  the 


Elevations  Made  Permanent.  233 

rigidity  of  the  superincumbent  mass  and  the 
support  of  the  roof  by  stalactitic  columns  within 
the  cavern,  a  slight  diminution  of  internal 
pressure  may  be  followed  more  readily  by  an 
inflow  of  lava  than  by  a  downward  movement 
of  the  crust,  thus  forming  intrusive  strata 
which,  by  repeated  inflations  of  a  cavern  accu- 
mulate  and  give  permanence  to  very  consider - 
ble  elevations  of  portions  of  the  earth's  surface. 

In  aid  of  that  movement,  or  independently 
of  it,  the  upward  flow  of  lava  into  caverns 
may  be  effected  by  successive  throbs  and  thrusts 
caused  by  wrenchings  of  the  earth's  crust  under 
the  influence  of  nutation  and  precession.  Indeed 
the  wrenchings  of  the  crust  may  be  the  means 
by  which  lava  is  gradually  and  systematically 
forced  up  into  the  caverns. 

All  rapid  sinking  of  parts  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face must  proceed  from  the  collapse  of  caverns 
underneath  them. 

In  the  instance  of  the  catastrophe  that  befel 
Cutch,  the  land  sank  from  a  position  in  which 
it  had  long  been  inhabited,  to  one  in  which  it 
became  marshy.  Such  occurrences  indicate  that 
the  inflation  of  a  cavern  may  be  maintained  in 


234  Elevations. 

full  during  a  long  period,  and  give  support  to 
the  earth  above  it  till  a  collapse  occurs. 

The  question  may  arise — why  was  there  not 
the  process  above  described  of  the  collapse  of 
the  cavern  being  attended  by  an  intrusion  of 
lava,  thus  making  the  elevation  permanent? 
Possibly  the  inflated  cavern  itself  had  been 
maintained  on  the  surface  of  the  intruded  strata 
and  elevated  repeatedly  with  the  superincumbent 
mass  till  numerous  intruded  strata  had  formed 
beneath  it  to  a  thickness  that  prevented  the  usual 
ready  inflow  of  lava  from  the  central  mass  of 
the  globe. 

Elevations  caused  by  the  inflation  of  caverns 
located  upon  the  surface  of  the  central  mass, 
without  any  intervening  strata,  would  be  most 
readily  made  permanent  by  intrusions  of  lava 
from  below. 

The  subsidence  of  the  surface  in  Cutch  may 
be  otherwise  explained  by  suggesting  a  collapse 
of  the  cavern  more  rapid  than  could  be  entirely 
arrested  by  the  inflow  of  lava.  The  vertical 
motion  that  has  been  observed  in  earthquakes 
doubtless  results  from  an  instantaneous  collapse 
of  a  cavern,  or  from  a  number  in  succession, 


Heat  in  the  Earth's  Crust.  235 

accompanied  by  abrupt  falls  of  the  earth's  crust. 
The  various  effects  of  heat  throughout  the 
earth's  crust  present  some  complications  not 
easily  explained.  While  in  some  *  places  the 
puncturing  of  the  crust  recently  by  new  vol- 
canoes indicates  such  plasticity  nearly  to  the 
surface  that  the  strata  yield  to  eruptions,  yet 
in  the  power  rooms  thirteen  miles  below,  in  a. 
temperature  of  fourteen  hundred  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred degrees  great  firmness  is  indicated  by  the 
confinement  of  steam  which  could  not  otherwise 
have  given  rise  to  the  most  stupendous  phe- 
nomena that  the  world  has  ever  known,  some 
particulars  of  which  will  be  related  farther  on. 
Doubtless  the  firmness  of  the  power  rooms  is 
chiefly  due  to  the  solidity  of  several  miles  in 
thickness  of  the  globe's  crust.  Only  where  that 
is  punctured,  or  weak,  do  the  power  rooms 
make  way  for  the  pressure  upward  of,  the  force 
confined  within  them.  Lateral  pressure  is  in  the 
direction  of  adjoining  cells,  from  which  they 
are  separated  by  partitions  that  often  give  way? 
resulting  sometimes  in  earthquakes,  some  of 
which  are  very  severe.  Many  slight  shocks  are 
felt  in  various  part  of  the  world,  all  of  which 


28(5  Elevations. 

may  be  attributed  to  the  same  cause,  the  break- 
ing of  cell  partitions.  That  all  parts  of  the 
known  world  are  subject  to  these  earth  tremors 
indicates  strongly  the  existence  of  power  caverns 
under  all  parts  of  the  earth's  surface. 

Inquirers  may  be  desirous  to  know  why  power 
rooms,  as  such,  are  described  as  being  located 
thirteen  miles  below  the  surface.  It  is  not  only 
indicated  by  geologists  as  about  the  depth  of 
the  stratified  rocks,  the  separation  of  which 
from  the  mass  below  forms  a  natural  location 
for  confining  steam  force,  but  that  the  temper- 
ature and  pressure  combined  that  are  required 
for  generating  the  force  necessary  are  not  found 
at  much  less  depth.  A  quotation  from  a  library 
of  knowledge  in  a  volume  aptly  discusses  the 
matter  :  * 

"According  to  calculations  which  are  based,  it 
is  true,  on  various  hypothetical  data,  it  would  be 
at  a  point  more  than  nine  miles  below  the  surface 
of  the  ground  that  the  expansive  force  of  the 
water  would  attain  sufficient  energy  to  balance 
the  weight  of  the  superincumbent  liquid  masses, 
and  to  be  suddenly  converted  into  steam  at  a  tem- 
perature of  eight  hundred  or  nine  hundred  degrees 
Fahr.  These  gaseous  masses  would  then  have 

*From  "  The  Earth."     Keclus.  p.  436. 


Depth  to  Power  Caverns.  237 

force  to  lift  a  column  of  water  of  the  weight  of 
fifteen  hundred  atmospheres  ;  if, '  however,  from 
any  cause,  they  cannot  escape  as  quickly  as  they 
are  formed,  they  exercise  their  pressure  in  every 
direction  and  ultimately  find  their  way  from  fissure 
to  fissure  until  they  reach  the  fused  rocks  which 
exist  in  the  depths. 

uTo  this  incessantly  increasing  pressure  we  must, 
therefore,  attribute  the  ascent  of  the  lava  into 
vent-holes  of  volcanoes,  the  occurrences  of  earth- 
quakes, the  fusion  and  the  rupture  of  the  terres- 
trial crust,  and,  finally,  the  violent  eruptions 
of  the  imprisoned  fluids.  But  why  should  the 
vapor  thus  pervade  the  subterranean  strata,  and 
upheave  them  into  volcanic  cones,  when  by  the 
natural  effect  of  its  overcoming  the  volumes  of 
water  which  press  it  down,  it  ought  simply  to 
rise  toward  the  bed  of  the  sea  from  which  it 
descended?  In  the  present  state  of  science,  this 
is  a  question  to  which  it  seems  absolutely 
impossible  to  give  a  satisfactory  answer  and 
geologists  must  at  least  have  the  merit  of  can- 
didly acknowledging  their  ignorance  on  this 
point. ' ' 

Doubtless  the  vapors  do  ascend  toward  the 
surface  whenever  the  direction  of  the  fissures 
favor  their  escape,  which  they  do  not  always, 
and  consequently  they  are  often  pressed  down- 
ward through  any  fissures  that  may  lead  in  that 
direction,  to  the  lowest  strata  bed. 

Were  the  floor  caverns  only  nine  miles  beneath 
the  surface,  the  forces  would  be  too  feeble  to- 


238  Elevations. 

produce  the  phenomena  attending  earthquakes  and 
volcanic  eruptions,  but  when  they  proceed  from 
power  rooms  located  thirteen  miles  below  the 
surface  having  a  temperature  of  about  fif- 
teen hundred  degrees  and  a  pressure  of  more 
than  twenty-two  hundred  atmospheres,  the  expla- 
nation will  be  less  difficult.  The  far  greater 
expansive  force  of  vaporized  water  produced  by 
&  temperature  of  fifteen  hundred  degrees  is  re- 
quired to  elevate  continental  areas  above  the 
surface  of  the  ocean,  and  even  that  might  be 
a  failure  were  there  a  less  pressure  than  twenty- 
two  hundred  and  fourteen  atmospheres  to  confine 
the  steam. 

Estimating  the  location  of  the  power  cavern 
floor  at  thirteen  miles  below  the  surface  of  the 
ocean  indicates  eight  miles  as  the  minimum 
thickness  of  the  stratified  crust  under  the  deep- 
est ocean,  and  eighteen  miles  as  the  maximum 
thickness,  to  lofty  mountain  tops.  The  water  sur- 
face has  an  average  thickness  of  nearly  two 
miles. 

A  few  particulars  of  some  of  the  most  re- 
markable volcanic  eruptions  will  best  illustrate 
the  forces  of  the  power  caverns. 


Remarkable  Volcanic  Eruptions.          239 

In  A.  D.  seventy-nine,  a  side  of  the  top  of 
Mt.  Vesuvius  was  blown  off  bodily  by  an  ex- 
plosion. Some  of  the  effects  are  still  visible. 
In  that  instance,  it  might  be  represented  that 
the  explosion  originated  in  the  mountain,  the 
volcano  having  been  long  inactive,  and  the 
former  vent  so  firmly  closed  that  it  was  more 
difficult  to  open  it  than  to  blow  off  the  side  of 
a  mountain. 

But    in    1638    the   summit   of    the    peak   Timor, 

which    might    be    seen    like    a     lighthouse     a     diS- 
cl?  O 

tance  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  miles,  was 
blown  up  bodily  into  the  air,  and  a  lake  of 
water  wras  formed  in  the  enormous  void  caused 
by  the  explosion.  In  that  instance,  it  is  evident 
that  the  explosion  originated,  not  in  the  moun- 
tain, but  in  the  crust  of  the  earth  far  below. 
The  volcano  was  already  in  active  eruption  by 
force  generated  in  a  power  room,  when  proba- 
bly the  partition  of  an  adjoining  room  in  which 
tHere  was  a  tremendous  steam  pressure,  suddenly 
gave  way,  and  the  force  of  steam  released,  in 
addition  to  that  already  active,  was  in  such  excess 
of  the  capacity  of  the  vent  of  the  volcano,  and 
of  the  resistance  of  the  tremendous  weight  of 


240  Volcanoes. 

the  mountain  top  that  it  was  violently  hurled 
from  its  position,  and  dashed  to  pieces.  The 
resistance  of  the  partition  that  gave  way  be- 
tween the  two  power  rooms  may  have  been 
overcome  by  the  lava  brought  against  it  in  the 
room  first  connected  with  the  volcano,  by  which 
the  stalactitic  wall  was  softened  till  it  could  no 
longer  resist  the  pressure  of  the  confined  steam, 
and  a  large  section  of  it  gave  way  at  once. 
The  presence  of  lava  in  the  room  connected 
with  the  volcanic  vent  is  explained  by  the 
pressure  of  the  confined  steam  in  the  adjoining 
room,  upon  a  large  surface  of  the  plastic  mass 
underneath,  pressing  it  downward  and  thus  for- 
cing lava  from  the  interior  mass  of  it  up  through 
into  a  cavern  connected  with  the  volcanic  vent, 
w'hich  had  less  steam  pressure. 

Such  a  phenomenon  may  occur  in  the  case 
of  a  single  large  cell,  of  an  extent  not  too 
great  to  be  quickly  exhausted,  from  which  the 
exit  of  the  steam  is  through  a  very  large  vent, 
having  the  effect  of  an  explosion. 

In  another  class  of  phenomena  the  force  is 
exerted  continuously  during  several  days,  or 
weeks.  It  may  be  explained  by  supposing  a 


Dust  Eruption.  241 

power  cavern  extending  thousands  of  miles,  or 
several  such  caverns  connected  together  and 
charged  with  a  high  pressure  of  steam  that 
finds  vent  through  a  volcano— a  vent  with  a 

o 

capacity  for  only  a  gradual  escape  of  steam 
that  continues  through  several  days,  or  weeks,, 
discharging  vast  amounts  of  steam,  or  sweeping 
up  and  expelling  with  greater  than  .hurricane 
force  immense  quantities  of  dust,  ashes,  and 
scoria  that  had  gathered  on  the  cavern  floor. 

An  illustration  of  the  extent  and  capacity  of 
power  caverns  may  be  found  in  an  attentive 
consideration  of  the  eruption,  in  1835,  of 
the  volcano  Conseguina,  a  hill  five  hundred 
feet  in  height,  in  Nicaragua.  The  ac- 
counts given  of  it  refer  chiefly  to  the 
vast  amount  of  dust  violently  expelled  from  it, 
which  was  estimated  to  have  spread  over  one 
and  one-half  millions  square  miles,  and  the  mass 
of  matter  blown  out  to  have  been  not  less  than 
sixty-five  thousand  five  hundred*  millions  cubic 
yards,  which  is  more  than  twelve  cubic  miles. 
The  hill  was  not  blown  away,  but  the  dust  was 
driven  violently  from  its  place  of  deposit 

*From  "The  Earth."    Reclus,  p.  471. 
—  16 


242  Volcanoes. 

within  the  earth.  It  is  incredible  that  there 
could  have  been  a  deposit  of  so  much  dust  in 
a  body  underneath  the  hill,  but  that  it  should 
have  been  accumulating  through  an  immense  in- 
terval on  the  floor  of  a  vast  division  of  that 
subterranean  cavern  enveloping  the  earth,  to  be 
swept  up  and  hurled  out  through  the  vent  of 
a  volcano  with  the  terrific  force  that  the  press- 
ure which  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  square 
miles  of  the  earth's  crust  could  exert  upon 
the  roof  of  a  power  cavern  is  not  unreason- 
able. Air  from  the  most  distant  parts  of 
the  cavern  would  not  move  with  such  vio- 
lence, hence  the  dust  would  be  driven  chiefly 
from  the  portions  of  it  less  distant  from  the 
outlet.  Yet  the  estimated  volume  swept  out,  if 
it  were  spread  out  over  one  and  a  half  mill- 
ions square  miles  of  cavern  floor,  allowing  one- 
fifth  of  the  space  for  supporting  columns,  would 
be  more  than  seven  inches  in  depth.  It  is 
stated  of  the  violence  of  the  eruption  that  the 
uproar  of  it  was  heard  more  than  one  thou- 
sand miles  distant.  It  has  been  said  that 
"slags  and  stones  may  be  thrown  out  when 
the  mountain  is  comparatively  quiet,  but  dust 


Volcanic  Eruptions.  243 

Is  always  expelled  with  violence."  Dust  de- 
posited in  a  body  near  the  outlet  would  some- 
times be  expelled  without  violence.  That  it  is 
always  expelled  with  violence  favors  the  hypoth- 
esis that  it  is  swept  up  from  a  floor  of  great 
extent. 

The  duration  of  the  eruption  could  not  be 
known  as  the  obscuration  by  the  dust  prevented 
observation,  but  probably  the  discharge  continued 
nearly  forty  hours,  as  light  began  to  appear 
after  about  forty-three  hours.  That  would  in- 
dicate an  average  rate  of  one  cubic  mile  of 
dust  expelled  in  three  and  one- third  hours. 
It  is  very  improbable  that  the  eruption  origin- 
ated in  the  same  cavern  that  one  in  the  same 
volcano  twenty-six  years  previously  had,  but 
from  an  adjoining  one  of  large  dimensions  that 
had  lain  dormant,  possibly,  millions  of  years. 
It  may  have  been  almost  wholly  under  the 
Pacific  office,  a  locality  suggested  by  the  nearness 
to  the  ocean,  of  the  volcano,  and  the  immensity 
of  the  dust  deposit,  so  evident  from  its  effects. 

It  may  have  been,  on  that  occasion,  opened 
for  the  first  time  in  its  existence.  The  volcano 
Timboro,  in  the  island  of  Sumbawa,  had,  in 


244  Volcanoes. 

1815,  given  another  instance  of  the  violent  ex- 
pulsion of  dust,  but  more  overwhelming,  caus- 
ing the  destruction  of  forty  thousand  inhabi- 
tants. Two  kingdoms  were  destroyed,  and  the 
dust  was  overwhelming  many  hundreds  of  miles 
distant. 

In  1783,  Skaptar  Jokal,  in  Iceland,  ejected 
so  much  fine  dust  that  the  atmosphere  of  all 
Iceland  was  loaded  with  it  for  months  afterward. 
It  fell  in  such  quantities  over  Caithness,  six 
hundred  miles  distant,  as  to  destroy  the  crops. 

All   three   of   those   volcanoes   were   near    large 

o 

oceans,  under  which  caverns  of  immense  extent 
may  have  been  generating  those  supplies'  of  dust 
during  the  whole  of  their  existence,  and,  possi- 
bly, for  the  first  time,  were  swept  of  their  pro- 
ducts, or  their  only  product,  dust.  The  question 
may  arise,  how  is  the  dry  ness  of  the  dust  ac- 
counted for,  if  it  was  expelled  by  steam  force  ? 
The  answer  is  that  steam  escaping  from  a  very 
distant  exploded  cavern,  sweeping  through  many 
hundred  miles  of  dry  apartments,  may  drive  the 
dust  before  it  toward  the  vent,  though  its  force 
may  be  exhausted  before  reaching  it. 

The    dust   is   of    a   form    denoting    its    floating 


Cavern  Forces.  245 

character,  such  as  is  not  to  be  evolved  out  of 
sedimentary  strata.  Having  been  deposited  from 
its  former  floating  in  the  caverns,  it  is  farther 
pulverized  by  the  violent  expulsion  of  it  through 
the  maze  of  columns,  and  in  large  volumes  floats 
readily  upon  the  air  hundreds  of  miles.  Thus 
the  form  of  the  earth's  floor  of  power  rooms, 
so  well  adapted  to  the  elevation  of  land  sur- 
faces, in  level  form  as  well  as  mountainous, 
may  well  be  deemed  the  source  also  of  the 
most  violent  volcanic  explosions.  Explosions  re 
suit  from  failures  to  elevate,  by  the  dissipation 
of  the  elevating  force  in  the  escape  of  the  steam. 
There  is  a  constant  normal  pressure,  probably, 
upon  the  full  extent  of  the  cavern  floor  encom- 
passing the  earth.  Under  opsn  volcanic  vents  it 
would  be  equivalent  to  the  pressure  of  about 
twenty-two  hundred  and  fourteen  atmospheres. 
When  the  steam  force  in  adjacent  rooms  far  ex- 
ceeds that  amount,  the  pressure  in  them  upon 
the  interior  molten  mass  forces  lava  up  through 
the  plastic  unbroken  crust  into  the  cavern  con- 
nected with  the  vent,  proportionate  to  the  force 
in  the  adjoining  rooms.  It  may  be  done  quietly, 
or  without  explosive  force,  and  the  force  may 


246  Volcanoes. 

be  sufficient  to  cause  eruptions  of  lava  through 
volcanoes. 

There  can  be  no  discharge  from  a  cavern  hav- 
ing no  more  than  a  normal  pressure.  But  if  it 
were  possible  to  condense  the  closely  confined 
steam  in  one,  it  would  probably  cause  a  collapse, 
and  a  subsidence  of  the  earth's  crust  above  it. 

Whatever  violence  may  occur  is  the  effect  of 
steam  power  exerted  within  the  caverns.  It  is 
evident  from  observations  of  the  dikes  and  fissures 
formed  in  the  stratified  crust  while  it  was  plastic 
throughout,  that  lava  was  readily  forced  through 
it,  and  it  is  doubtless  as  easily  forced  through 
the  unstratified  crust  into  the  power  caverns,  and 
through  them  into  volcanic  vents. 

It  has  -been  estimated  that  in  a  hundred  days 
the  volcano  ^Etna  threw  up  vapor  sufficient  to 
make  two  hundred  millions  barrels  of  water.  A 
cavern  measuring  one  and  a  half  millions  square 
miles  would  be  only  about  one-hundredth  part 
of  the  cavernous  floor  space  within  the  earth's 
crust.  A  cavern  of  that  extent,  or  greater, 
might  be  required  to  furnish  the  force  expended 
in  a  volcanic  eruption  of  one  hundred  days'  dura- 


Continuity  of  Power  Caverns.  247 

tion,    though    steam    may    have     been    enormously 
generated    in  a  smaller   cavern. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  caverns  of  such 
capacity  in  the  interior  of  the  earth  of  the 
bubble  forms  that  steam  or  any  gaseous  force 
would  give  them,  under  the  unbroken  crust 
theory,  capable  of  supplying  the  immense  amount 
of  steam,  or  dust  and  ashes  that  have  some- 
times been  ejected  from  volcanoes.  Such  cells 
are  so  inconceivable,  both  of  size  and  location, 
that  speculations  for  their  existence  are  not  put 
forth  with  any  minuteness  of  description.  It  is 
incredible  that  water  should  have  found  chan- 
nels down  through  the  unbroken  rock  to  the 
depth  of  many  miles  to  regions  having  the  high 
degree  of  heat  essential  to  generating  the  im- 
mense steam  power  so  prominent  in  volcanic 
eruptions.  Such  action  would,  under  that  theory, 
have  occurred  early  in  the  earth's  existence, 
and  would  have  been  unaccountable. 

If  unconnected  bubble  forms  were  used  for 
generating  power  for  elevations  of  lands,  the 
result  would  be  mountainous  surfaces.  It  is 
apparent  that  when  the  plains  of  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  were  elevated,  large  portions  of  it 


248  Volcanoes. 

were  uplifted  together,  for  a  remarkable  even- 
ness of  surface  was  preserved,  indicating  a  uni- 
formity of  the  uplifting  power  under  every 
portion,  and  the  effect  was  such  as  no  discon- 
nected applications  of  power  under  small  areas 
could  have  produced.  There  was  evidently  no 
part  of  the  uplifted  surface  under  which  the 
power  rooms  did  not  extend.  Similar  uniformity 
is  observable  on  portions  of  all  continents. 
Extensive  plateaux  in  the  oceans  indicate  conti- 
nuity of  the  power  room  floor  under  them.  It 
is  possible  that  under  the  deepest  oceans  are 
the  only  power  rooms  in  which  steam  has  not 
been  engendered  for  the  exertion  of  its  force. 

o 

There  are  some  extreme  ocean  depths  that 
seem  to  require  explanation.  Their  beds  are 
apparently  two  or  three  miles  below  the  origi- 
nal level  of  the  surface  of  the  earth,  as  if 
they  had  been  excavated.  They  may  have  been 
elevated  and  submerged  again  after  having  had 
one  or  two  miles  thickness  eroded  off.  Or 
they  may  have  continued  to  settle  undisturbed, 
with  the  contraction  of  the  globe,  while  in  the 
pressure  upward  of  lava  from  the  central  mass 
to  sustain  elevations  permanently,  the  filling  in  has 


Deep  Ocean  Depressions.  249 

been  carried  to  the  extent  of  raising  all  the 
other  parts  of  the  surface  till  the  extreme  ocean 
depths  seem  to  have  been  increased  by  excava- 
tion. Lava  supplied  to  fill  in  and  give  perma- 
nency to  two  miles  in  thickness  under  all  the 
dry  land,  and  one  and  one-half  miles  in  aver- 
age thickness  under  an  equal  area*  of  elevated 
ocean  bed,  would  cause  a  shrinkage  under  the 
deepest  ocean  to  the  depth  two  or  three  miles, 
which  would  fully  account  for  the  extreme 
depth  of  it. 

Subaqueous  depressions  in  the  earth's  surface 
constituting  deep  lakes  may  have  been  caused 
by  the  existence,  during  some  part  of  a  series 
of  elevations,  of  caverns  beneath  them  from 
which  the  lifting  force  was  excluded  and  their 
level  was  unchanged,  while  the  surface  of  the 
surrounding  country  was  elevated.  Especially 
would  the  explanation  seem  to  apply  to  lakes 
the  shores  of  which  are,  to  great  depths,  per- 
pendicular. 

Reference  to  the  immensity  of  subterranean 
caverns  for  extensive  elevations,  accentuates  ex- 
planation by  comparison,  of  the  tremendous 
force  exerted  by  .them  by  means  of  which  the 


250  Volcanoes. 

top  of  a  volcano  is  blown  off,  or  several  cubic 
miles  of  dust  and  ashes  are  'violently  expelled 
from  them. 

An  ideal  explanation  of  the  process  by  which 
the  peak  of  Timor  was  blown  off  and  dashed 
to  pieces  may  assist  the  mind  to  grasp  the 
immensities  'of  cavern  forces.  The  volcano  being 
in  moderate  active  eruption,  through  a  vent  in 
the  lofty  summit,  by  the  steam  force  of 
an  ample  power  cavern  ;  upon  the  sudden  re- 
lease of  steam  under  extreme  pressure  from  an 
adjoining  cavern  of  immense  extent  by  a  burst- 
ing of  the  wall  between,  the  stratified  crust  above 
the  latter,  several  miles  in  thickness  forming 
its  cover,  being  relieved  of  the  upward  pressure 
of  steam  •  by  its  escape,  began  to  settle.  The 
rapid  escape  of  steam  into  the  cavern  connected 
with  the  volcano  produced  an  equilibrium  of 
pressure  in  the  two  caverns.  But  the  massive 
stratified  roof  of  the  exploded  cavern,  still 
settling,  however  little,  had  acquired  a  momen- 
tum that  gave  an  irresistible  force  to  the 
equalized  pressure  of  steam  in  the  two  caverns, 
far  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  open  vent 
of  the  volcano  to  relieve,  and  beyond  the  weight 


Effects  of  Cavern  forces.  251 

of  the  mountain  top  to  restrain,  or  resist.  When 
the  momentum  of  the  descent  of  thousands  of 
miles  of  the  full  thickness  of  the  earth's  strat- 
ified crust  is  opposed  or  resisted  by  the  summit 
of  a  volcanic  peak,  which  must  yield  ? 

The  elevation  of  a  large  portion  of  the  earth's 
stratified  crust  slightly,  as  here  supposed,  is  but 
a  trifle  compared  with  an  elevation  thousands 
of  yards  in  height. 

In  all  the  phenomena  pertaining  to  volcanic 
eruptions  and  earthquakes,  the  steam  being  al- 
lowed to  escape,  the  force  displayed  in  them  is 
far  less  than  that  employed  in  raising  extensive 
tracts  above  the  ocean,  in  which  movement  the 
steam  is  retained  till  the  work  is  accomplished. 

It  has  been  observed  that  volcanoes  which  are 
very  close  to  one  another  show  no  coincidence  in 
the  times  of  their  eruptions.  That  they  are 
operated  independently  of  one  another  is  ex- 
plained by  the  independent  existence  of  the 
floor  caverns  underneath  them  whence  comes  the 
power  that  causes  their  eruptions.  Two  vol- 
canoes within  a  hundred  miles  of  each  other 
might  each  give  vent  to  a  million  of  square 
miles  of  single  floor  connected  caverns  lying  in 


252  Volcanoes. 

different  directions,  and  separated  by  walls,  or 
cells,  or  groups  of  them. 

The  dissimilarity  of  lavas  and  gases  from  dif- 
ferent volcanoes  may  have  arisen  from  the  sort- 
ing of  minerals  and  elements  according  to  their 
affinities  during  the  time  that  the  broken  crust 
of  the  earth  was  in  agitation  and  all  were  be- 
ing evolved  from  their  lithic  settings.  The  floor, 
which  subsequently  became  the  floor  of  the 
caverns  was  the  receptacle  of  the  various  met- 
als, minerals,  and  other  affiliated  deposits,  from 
which  various  gases  were  evolved  and  expelled 
with  the  steam.  Doubtless  some  affinities  may 
be  working  in  the  central  mass  that  would  ex- 
plain some  of  the  differences  in  various  fields 
of  lava,  while  the  mingling  of  the  varieties  of 
dust  and  rocks  from  different  caverns  would 
also  change  the  character  of  the  lavas.  The 
depths  also  from  which  lava  is  abstracted  may 
affect  its  character.  It  would  be  thrust  out 
from  the  surface  of  the  .molten  central  mass, 
above  which  the  thickness  of  the  earth's  crust 
may  vary  several  miles  in  different  localities. 

The  average  depth  to  the  great  molten  sea 
may  approximate  to  eighty  miles.  It  may  be 


Variable  Thickness  of  Earth's  Crust.     25& 

greater  under  deep  oceans,  or  under  regions 
where  the  strata  eight  hundred  feet  in  thick- 
ness are  permanently  frozen.  It  is  doubtless 
less  where  the  occasional  flow  of  lava  has 
heated  and  softened  the  crust,  as  exemplified 
where  it  has  melted  the  sides  of  volcanoes  and 
opened  vents  through  them  ;  and  it  is  probably 
less  also  where  the  globe  crust  has  been  inex- 
plicably found  or  made  plastic  to  the  surface,, 
as  in  the  instance  of  the  volcano  Jorullo,  in 
Mexico,  which,  in  1759,  rose  like  a  bubble, 
from  a  plain  which  w^as  itself  twenty-eight  hun- 
dred and  ninety  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  Under  such  conditions  the  body  of  the 
globe  might  be  molten  forty  or  fifty  miles  be- 
low the  outer  surface.  It  will  readily  be  seen 
that  while  the  floor  of  caverns  would  be  at  a 
uniform  depth,  about  thirteen  miles  below  the 
sea  level,  the  full  thickness  of  the  crust  must 
be  estimated  to  be  extremely  variable,  being 
subject  to  a  great  variety  of  influences,  or  forces. 
The-  considerations  that  have  led  to  the  adop- 
tion of  the  theory  of  the  power  caverns  as  de- 
scribed, may  well  be  reviewed  here.  The  find- 
ing a  possible  means  of  elevating  portions  of 


254  Volcanoes. 

the  earth's  crust  hundreds  or  thousands  of  miles 
in  extent  by  a  uniformity  of  uplifting  power 
that  preserves  evenness  of  surface,  is  most  de- 
sirable to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the  intellect 
for  knowledge  relating  to  the  most  stupendous 
phenomena  known  in  the  history  of  our  globe 
—phenomena  displaying  the  greatest  power,  and 
of  universal  occurrence,  yet  of  the  deepest 
mystery. 

It  was  apparent  that  the  means  used  to  effect 
those  extensive  elevations  must  exert  a  uniform- 
ity of  pressure  under  every  rood  of  their  sur- 
face. In  what  other  form,  or  by  what  other 
means  could  force  be  so  applied  than  by  con- 
tinuous caverns  beneath  whatever  extent  of  sur- 
face was  to  be  elevated?  It  is  not  probable 
that  ever  a  mountain  was  raised  bodily  but  by 
means  of  force  applied  in  a  cavern  beneath  it. 
The  elevation  of  a  continent  required  but  one 
more  extensive. 

The  discovery  of  the  transmutation  of  the 
•earth's  crust  in  full  volume  to  its  greatest 
known  depths,  together  with  the  processes  of 
its  stratification,  has  led  the  way  easily  to  de- 
termining upon  the  probable  location  of  the  incon- 


Location  of  Floor  of  Caverns.          255 

testable  caverns.  The  breaking  up  of  the  globe's 
crust,  upon  the  descent  of  all  the  earth's  water 
upon  it,  down  to  a  certain  level,  the  best  level 
for  the  development  of  power,  at  the  lowest 
depth  to  which  water  can  penetrate,  indicates  a 
possible  location  of  a  floor  of  caverns  encom- 
passing the  earth  between  the  stratified  and  the 
unstratified  crusts,  where  the  tremendous  power 
may  be  generated  and  exerted  for  the  produc- 
tion of  the  phenomena  that  have  ever  been  so 
grand  and  so  mysterious. 

It  has  been  shown  that  only  at  a  greater 
depth  than  nine  miles  can  heat  and  pressure  be 
found  sufficient  to  produce  the  required  power. 
From  that  depth  down  to  the  unbroken  central 
mass  the  contorted  foldings  of  the  strata  are 
doubtless  so  continuous  that  no  other  location 
can  be  found  for  the  application  of  uplifting 
power  under  surfaces  of  great  extent,  than  the 
separation  between  the  stratified  and  the  unstrat- 
ified portions  of  the  earth's  crust.  Therefore  in 
that  strata  bed  would  seem  to  be  located  the 
caverns  that  evidently  exist  by  means  of  which 
nearly  all  portions  of  the  surface  of  the  globe, 
subterranean  and  subaqueous,  have  at  various 


256  Volcanoes. 

times  been  elevated.  While  no  formula  can  be 
given  for  dividing  the  floor  into  sections,  or 
caverns,  or  determining  their  sizes,  nor  for  a 
precise  description  of  the  various  marvellous 
phenomena ;  it  is  so  conceivable  that  the  caverns 
may  be  formed — that  the  most  stupendous  power 
may  be  generated  in  them,  and  that  all  the 
phenomena  occurring  by  means  of  power  ex- 
erted beneath  the  earth's  surface  may  reasonably 
be  attributed  to  them,  and,  indeed,  must  be, 
that  the  mystery  of  the  phenomena  is  mainly 
removed,  or  overcome,  and  the  desire  for  a 
basis  of  investigations  is  gratified.  The  crav- 
ings for  knowledge  find  satisfaction  in  the  mate- 
rial advance  made,  and  encouragement  in  the 
vistas  of  hope  opened  up  for  progress  in  the 
future. 

That  an  uplifting  power  existed  under  the 
earth's  surface  by  which  large  districts  were 
elevated  evenly  together,  must  have  been  ever 
obvious ;  but  so  long  as  no  conceivable  location 
was  found  for  it,  nor  any  apparent  application 
of  it  possible,  an  assertion  of  its  existence 
would  be  too  indefinable  to  satisfy  either  re- 
later  or  hearer.  A  location  having  now  been 


Cavern  Power.  257 

found  for  it,  and  means  possible  and  definable 
formulated  for  its  application,  the  theory  of  the 
power  caverns  must  rank  as  no  mer.e  specula- 
tion, but  a  reality  too  obvious  to  be  denied. 
Precision  of  description  of  the  locality,  and  of 
the  details  of  formation,  are  subject  to  modifi- 
cation, but  the  existence  of  the  caverns  will  be 
found  very  entertaining  history. 

A  glimmer  of  the  existence  of  the  power  ex- 
erted in  the  caverns  is  seen  in  the  following 
quotation : 

"Whole  districts  have  been  suddenly  upheaved 
a  few  inches,  or  even  several  feet.  If  the  facts 
are  certain  (and  there  seems  but  little  doubt 
about  them),  they  would  go  to  prove  that  earth- 
quakes, from  which  the  upheavals  result,  are 
caused  by  the  pressure  of  confined  vapor." 

And  sometimes  a  sudden  release  of  the  pres- 
sure, might  have  been  added.  But  science  was 
not  then  in  touch  with  the  sources  of  power 
by  which  the  phenomena  were  produced.  There 
was  a  reaching  out  and  longing  for  a  disclosure 
of  those  hidden  mysteries  that  seemed  forever 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  acquaintance. 

Will    it    be    presumptuous    to    assert    that  many 

*"The  Earth,"  Reclus.    p.  521. 
—IT 


258  Volcanoes. 

items  of  knowledge  have  been  gained,  errors 
corrected,  and  mysterious  phenomena  explained 
as  results  of  the  discovery  of  the  transmutation 
process  by  which  the  surface  of  the  earth 
was  broken  up  and  transformed?  It  can  no 
longer  be  held  that  the  waters  that  had  been 
suspended  over  the  molten  globe  ever  fell  and 
rested  upon  an  unbroken  rock  surface,  nor  that 
the  present  stratifications  resulted  mainly  from 
erosions  of  solid  rocks  of  the  original  surface 
•of  the  earth.  The  alternative  necessarily  follows, 
that  the  solid  crust  of  the  earth  was  broken  up 
at  the  time  of  the  descent  of  the  waters  upon 
it  ; — parallel  stratification  followed  to  completion 
during  the  period  in  which  the  ocean  was  agi- 
tated by  heat  rising  from  its  depths,  and  after 
a  long  interval,  elevations  of  land  surfaces  above 
the  ocean  began  to  occur,  followed  by  another 
transformation  in  the  irregular  stratifications 
that  have  continued  to  form  to  the  present  time. 
There  follows  also  in  due  order  a  discernment 
and  recognition  of  extensive  floor  caverns  far 
below,  and  parallel  with  the  average  earth's 
surface,  by  means  of  which  large  districts  of 
it  have  been  elevated  from  time  to  time  over 


Discoveries  Encounter  Prejudice.          259 

nearly  the  entire  surface  of  the  globe.  The 
existence  of  caverns  being  recognized,  together 
with  the  forces  confined  in  them  b$  which  all 
the  elevations  have  been  effected,  there  follows 
also  the  attributing  to  the  application  of  those 
cavernous  forces  the  phenomena  of  earthquakes 
and  volcanic  eruptions. 

The  transformation  of  the  entire  earth's  crust, 
together  with  the  means  of  elevating  the  con- 
tinents and  other  dry  lands,  the  discovery  of 
which  is  described  in  this  treatise,  were  move- 
ments so  stupendous  as  to  appear  incredible  for 
their  overwhelming  immensity. 

A  person  long  accustomed  to  former  hypoth- 
eses, instinctively  fortifies  himself  against  the 
adoption  of  the  monstrous  proposition  to  aban- 
don all  long  cherished  and  generally  accepted 
ideas  of  the  preparation  of  the  earth  for  the 
abode  of  man.  Only  the  most  incontestable  evi- 
dence, plainly  stated  and  forcibly  presented,  will 
overcome  his  prejudice,  and  convince  him  of 
the  verity  of  the  accounts  of  the  alleged  phe- 
nomenal forces  and  earth  movements. 

A  brief  restatement  of  evidences  may  be  made 
here,  proceeding  from  effect  to  cause. 


260  Volcanoes. 

A  continuous  floor  of  power  rooms  or  cav- 
erns enveloping  the  earth  has  been  shown  to  be 
possible,  and  not  only  possible,  but  an  indis- 
pensable means  of  elevations  of  land  surfaces 
above  the  ocean,  whereby  the  earth  has  been 
rendered  habitable.  Quite  as  indispensable  are 
the  means  by  which  the  floor  of  power  rooms 
was  formed — the  rending  of  the  crust  encom- 
passing the  earth  to  a  uniform  depth  simul- 
taneously throughout  its  extent.  No  other  means 
are  conceivable  of  achieving  the  rending  but 
the  contest  between  the  waters  of  the  globe 
and  the  heat  in  the  rock.  That  movement  car- 
ries the  statement  back  to  the  state  of  the 
globe  in  which  the  hypotheses,  the  old  and  the 
new,  agree ;  namely,  that  the  waters  which  had 
been  held  aloft  by  the  heat  of  the  globe  had 
finally  settled  upon  it. 

When  these  propositions  take  rank  as  items 
of  knowledge,  it  will  be  the  beginning  of  geo- 
logical history  that  has  heretofore  been  left 
blank,  which  will  link  the  mysteries  of  the 
primitive  stages  of  the  earth's  development  with 
the  discoveries  and  achievements  of  modern 
science, — the  beginning  of  geological  history  in 


Responsibilities  of  Masters  of  Science.    261 

which  the  intellectualities  of  the  world  become 
the  consciousness  of  not  only  modern  existence, 
but  also  of  all  the  eras  comprising  the  past  life 
of  our  planet  and  solar  system.  They  may  even 
aspire  to  become  the  throbbing  consciousness  of 
the  world's  future  existence  and  destiny,  as 
they  alone  surely  will  be  after  all  else  shall 
have  passed  away. 

The  masters  of  science  upon  whom  the  re- 
sponsibility devolves  of  investigating  the  proposi- 
tions contained  in  this  treatise,  relating  to  the 
earth  and  solar  system  will  discern  in  the  work 
a  claim  of  conscious  science  for  the  privilege 
of  asserting  and  redeeming  the  honor  which  is 
its  obligation  to  the  Creator  of  the  world,  and 
its  recompense  from  mankind  for  its  intellectual 
achievements. 

After  being  so  long  subject  to  investigation 
by  the  combined  intellectual  enterprise  of  the 
world,  the  tardiness,  with  which  the  discoveries 
of  movements  so  simple  and  so  evident  are 
made,  present  no  apposite  occasion  for  pride, 
but  rather  for  apologies  for  having  so  long 
failed  .to  honor  them  with  due  recognition. 
Even  now  that  the  attention  of  the  world  is 


262  Volcanoes. 

called  to  them,  with  much  modest  explanation 
and  persistent  argument,  it  remains  to  be  seen 
if,  as  in  times  past,  a  recognition  of  the  im- 
portant discoveries  must  await  the  consent  of  a 
following  generation  ;  or  whether  haply  we  have 
fallen  upon  a  more  enlightened  age  in  which 
the  merit  of  the  work  will  be  promptly  recog- 
nized and  acknowledged. 

While  endeavoring  to  become  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  physical  world,  will  it  not  be  wise 
to  enlist  in  it  the  sympathy  of  Him  whose  is 
the  bestowal  of  the  gift  of  all  consciousness, 
thus  making  a  harmonious  whole  of  the  con- 
sciousness of  Creator,  created  intelligences,  and 
physical  creation  ? 


CHAPTER  VI. 


GENERATIONS  OF  STARS. 


"Speaks  He  the  word?  a  thousand  worlds  are  born: 
A  thousand  worlds?    There's  space  for  millions  more. 


To  enter  upon  the  subject  here  presented  is 
to  despise  the  trepidation  the  venturesome  effort 
excites,  and  to  welcome  the  animadversions  that 
may  possibly  be  provoked  by  presumptuously 
delving  into  mysteries  that  have  hitherto  been 
deemed  too  obscure  for  the  ken  of  fallible 
minds. 

However  clear,  through  much  thought,  a  solu- 
tion of  a  mystery  may  become  to  one's  own 
mind,  there  is  often  difficulty  in  making  it  as 
clear  to  the  minds  of  others  to  whom  the 
matter  is  newly  presented.  Especially  is  this  so 
when  the  case  relates  to  phenomena  that  re- 
quire, through  much  reflection,  to  be  made 


264  Generations  of  Stars. 

familiar  to  the  mind  before  deciding  between 
approval  and  non-approval  of  conclusions. 

Readers  are  admonished  to  forbear  criticism 
pending  long  and  patient  inspection  of  the 
phenomena  presented  for  consideration.  A  last- 
ing benefit  may  be  found  in  the  process,  if  no 
other  good  results.  Every  effort  at  expansion 
of  thought  upon  a  worthy  theme  invigorates  the 
mind,  and  increases  its  capacity  for  farther  effort 
and  progress.  Hills  on  hills  arise,  but  the 
highest  summit ,  among  them  is  reached  at  last. 
Not  so  with  mental  summits.  Climb  as  you 
will,  steep  after  steep, — there  may  always  be 
found  an  infinite  beyond.  Only  those  can  soar 
aloft  that  dare  to  venture  betimes  upon  new 
and  venturesome  flights. 

However  one  may  soar,  there  is  always  room 
at  the  top. 

An  investigator's  forward  step  may  lead  to 
great  discoveries  by  others.  If  we  may  hope 
to  grasp  infinities  in  another  world,  why  may 
not  we  manifest  and  cherish  an  interest  in  them 
by  seeking  an  acquaintance  with  them  in  this 
world?  In  such  inspiring  mood  we  may  turn 
mr  eye  s  to  the  worlds  of  the  universe  with 


Inferences  by  Analogies.  265 

the  purpose  of  inquiring  into  some  of  their 
mysteries. 

Many  years  ago  the  number  of  stars  in  our 
home  cluster,  the  Milky  Way,  was  said  to  be 
about  six  millions.  A  few  years  later  the  esti- 
mate had  grown  to  twenty  millions.  Later  still 
the  estimates  have  been  greatly  increased.  All  be- 
yond our  own  solar  system  are  said  to  be  suns, 
the  centers  of  systems  of  worlds,  as  our  sun  is 
the  center  of  its  system. 

We  can  but  draw  all  our  inferences  relative 
to  the  mysteries  pertaining  to  those  distant 
worlds  from  analogies  between  our  own  and 
them.  The  laws  that  govern  our  own  world  and 
system  or  supposed  to  be  applicable  to  them. 

It  appears  to  be  the  office  and  purpose,  of  ex- 
istence of  our  sun  to  give  light  and  heat  to 
the  planets  attending  it.  Hence  a  sun  having 
no  attending  planets  would  seem  to  have  no 
purpose  of  existence, — no  office, — would  seem  to 
have  been  made  in  vain.  The  little  influence  of 
such  an  orb,  as  only  a  star  among  others,  would 
not  be  accounted  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  ex- 
istence of  a  world  of  so  great  magnitude. 
Hence  we  may  say  doubtless  every  fixed  star 


266  Generations  of  Stars. 

is  a  sun  having>  planets  attending  it ;  unless 
worlds  be  the  result  of  the  "promise  and 
potency  of  matter,"  independent  of  a  Supreme 
Intelligence,  in  which  case  freaks  and  monstros- 
ities would  be  very  common  among  them.  In 
such  case  serpents  or  baboons  might  be  the  in- 
telligent race,  and  brutish  man  be  in  subjection 
to  them  ;  or,  all  those  orders  might  be  endowed 
with  reasoning  faculties, — be  engaged  in  a  racial 
strife  for  the  ascendency,  and  in  legislation 
against  amalgamation, — where  potent  matter  is 
indiscriminately  supreme. 

A  sun  with  its  system  of  worlds  of  which 
not  one  is  to  be  occupied  during  some  period 
of  its  existence  by  beings  destined  for  immor- 
tality, would  seem  to  have  been  made  in  vain, 

—would  display  an  immensity  of  labor,  skill, 
and  care,  without  adequate  compensating  result, 

—would  leave  no  record  beyond  the  term  of  its 
physical  existence.  We  cannot  suppose  those 
mighty  globes,  the  fixed  stars,  to  have  been 
created  for  the  entertainment  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth.  Large  numbers  of  them  are 
doubtless  many  times  larger  than  our  sun,  but 
their  influence  upon  the  earth  is  represented  by 


Peopled  Worm^S^^S^     267 


mere  points  in  the  sky  on  dark  nights — a  very 
insignificant  benefit  for  so  vast  an  expenditure 
of  creative  skill  and  power.  We  >cannot  pre- 
sume those  fixed  stars  to  be  placed  in  the 
heavens  without  some  better  reason  than  the 
small  amount  of  light  they  yield  as  stars  for 
the  benefit  of  surrounding  stars.  Farther,  sup- 
posing them  to  be  surrounded  by  planets,  sys- 
tems like  our  own  solar  system,  we  are  led 
thereby  to  the  suggestion  .  that  there  are  on 
'those  planets  during  some  period  of  their  exist- 
ence, rational  beings  capable  of  taking  cognizance 
of  the  power,  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  the 
Creator. 

Such  attributes  would  be  displayed  in  vain., 
were  there  no  intellectual  beings  to  observe 
them.  It  may  be  said,  so  abundantly  is  our 
solar  system  supplied  with  intelligent  observers 
on  this  one  planet,  we  have  no  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  any  other  system  is  destitute  of  them- 


"  Seest  thou  those  orbs  that  numerous  roll  above  ? 
Those  lamps  that  nightly  greet  thy  visual  powers 
Are  each  a  bright  capacious  sun  like  ours? 
The  telescopic  tube  will  still  descry 
Myriads  behind  that  'scape  the  naked  eye, 


2(>8  Generations  of  Stars. 

And  further  on  a  new  discovery  trace 

Through  the  deep  regions  of  encompassed  space. 

If  each  bright  star  so  many  suns  are  found 

With  planetary  systems  circled  round. 

What  vast  infinitude  of  worlds  may  grace, 

What  beings  people  the  stupendous  space? 

Whatever  race  possess  the  etherial  plane, 

What  orbs  they  people,  or  what  ranks  maintain? 

Though  the  deep  secret  heaven  conceal  below, 

One  truth  of  universal  scope  we  know  : 

Our  nobler  part,  the  same  etherial  mind, 

Relates  our  earth  to  all  their  reasoning  kind, 

One  deity,  one  sole  creating  cause, 

Our  active  cares  and  joint  devotion  draws." 


Following  our  analogies,  among  other  things 
of  such  size  that  differences  are  observable,  we 
see  no  two  things  alike,  so  we  may  infer  that 
there  are  no  two  worlds  alike, — probably  no 
two  in  which  the  inhabitants  are  alike.  They 
may  be  alike  immortal,  yet  dissimilar  in  form, 
in  intellect,  and  in  habit, — in  body  and  soul. 

In  the  place  where  some  from  all  worlds  will 
meet,  there  will  be  unity  in  purpose  and  spirit, 
but  a  charming  diversity  in  many  things. 

Doubtless  among  the  things  of  unceasing  in- 
terest will  be  that  of  meeting  an  endless  variety 
of  forms,  from  the  simplicity  of  the  erect 


Duration  of  Stars.  269 

biped,  to  the  wonderful  forms  of  tHe  seraphim 
as  seen  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel  by  the  river 
Chebar.  From  generations  of  worlds,^  what  end- 
less achievements  and  accomplishments ;  what 
charming  varieties  of  faculties  ;  what  edify- 
ing and  captivating  eloquence  !  New  scenes, 
new  histories,  and  new  lines  of  thought — all 
from  an  endless  variety  of  worlds,  and  millions 
of  them. 

An  interesting  inquiry  may  be  made  in  re- 
gard to  the  duration  of  the  stars.  Are  the 
stars  now  seen  those  that  were  from  the  begin- 

o 

ning  of  the  creation  of  worlds?  Nothing  that 
any  man  observes  in  them  in  his  life-time  denotes 
any  change  in  them.  No  comparison  of  their 
present  condition  with  any  past  records  of  them 
gives  any  reliable  evidence  of  change  in  them, 
with  a  few  exceptions.  As  a  rule,  perhaps  one 
hundred  thousand  years  would  not  effect  a 
change  observable  from  the  earth  in  any  large 
number  of  them.  The  effect  upon  our  own 
globe,  of  the  passage  of  one  hundred,  or  even 
one  thousand  years  is  not  such  as  to  give  us- 
any  evidence  of  change  in  its  condition.  But 
we  do  find,  in  the  testimony  of  the  rocks,  the 


270  Generations  of  Stars. 

strongest  evidence  that  from  the  first  of  its 
existence  in  its  present  form,  the  earth  has 
been  losing  its  heat.  We  believe,  on  that  evi- 
dence, that  it  must  continue  to  grow  colder, 
and  at  some  future  time,  to  sink  to  the  cold- 
ness of  death — to  become,  like-  its  own  moon, 
A  dead  world. 

As  part  of  the  same  line  of  evidence,  we  be- 
lieve the  sun  also  is  losing  its  heat.  We  have 
the  evidence  of  our  senses,  and  science  also  tes- 
tifies that  the  sun  is  rapidly  expending  its  en- 
ergies. However  large  the  body,  its  store  of 
heat  must  suffer  loss — must  sometime  be  ex- 
pended. Then  the  sun  also  will  be  a  dead 
world.  The  planets,  for  whose  benefit  the  'sun 
was  prepared  to  give  light  and  vivifying  warmth  ; 
having  fulfilled  their  destinies,  and  become  life- 
less ;  the  office  and  purpose  terminate  for  which 
the  sun  was  created,  and  the  farther  continu- 
ance of  its  energies  would  be  but  the  prolonga- 
tion of  a  vain  existence. 

Herein  do  we  find  a  key  to  the  solution  of 
the  mystery  of  the  duration  of  the  stars  ;  for, 
in  like  manner  every  star  globe,  having  its  heat 
dissipated  in  the  coldness  of  outer  space,  must 


A  Generation  of  Stars.  271 

sink  into  the  condition  of  a  dead  world.  There 
can  be  no  exception.  All  of  the  many  millions 
of  stars  that  beautify  the  heavens,  though 
mighty  suns  are  they,  and  resplendent  in  glory, 
are  destined  to  run  their  span  of  life,  and  die. 
They  have  succeeded  others,  which,  in  turn, 
were  themselves  successors  in  a  long  line,  even 
from  the  beginning. 

It  is  not  essential,  for  our  present  purpose, 
to  know  the  terms  of  duration  of  stars.  Doubt- 
less it  is  relatively  somewhat  in  proportion  to 
their  size.  In  that  particular  they  differ  vastly. 
While  our  solar  system  might  run  its  course 
in  three  hundred  millions  of  years,  another,  like 
that  of  the  giant  sun  Sirius,  might  endure  two 
or  three  times  as  long.  But  its  limit  of  time 
will  come.  Eternity  is  long.  "From  everlast- 
ing to  everlasting"  there  has  been,  and  will 
be  space  for  many  such  enduring  periods.  A 
limit  may  be  assumed,  however,  for  farther 
illustration  of  our  subject. 

An  average  duration  of  all  the  stars,  say  a 
generation  of  them,  may  be  placed  at  one  thou- 
sand millions  of  years.  Then  accordingly,  within 
that  time,  the  glory  of  those  now  to  be  s*een 


272  Generations  of  Stars. 

in  the  heavens  will  have  passed  away,  and  a 
new  generation,  or  succession,  will  have  ap- 
peared ;  not  in  the  places  of  the  old  worlds, 
which,  though  dead,  may  still  be  in  their 
orbits.  And  so,  all  of  a  past  generation,  and 
we  know  not  how  many  more  still  older  gen- 
erations of  worlds,  may  still  be  moving 
in  the  heavens,  though  none  are  visible  to 
human  eyes  but  those  that  are  still  self  illu- 
minating. 

What  becomes  of  the  dead  worlds?  To  men- 
tion only  those  of  one  generation  past ;  if  none 
of  them  have  been  removed,  there  are  about 
as  many  dead,  as  life-supporting  worlds  moving 
in  the  heavens.  The  spaces  in  the  Milky  Way, 
and  the  cleft  in  it,  may  be  filled  with  them. 
The  middle  of  the  annular  cluster  in  Lyra  may  be 
as  well  filled  with  them  as  the  encircling  ring 
is  with  worlds  in  their  glory.  If  none  have 
been  removed,  destroyed,  or  dissolved,  there 
must  be  many  generations  of  them, — far  more 
invisible  than  visible  stars. 

It  may  be  asked,  what  interest  have  we  in 
the  destinies  of  those  distant  stars  whose  changes 
are  reckoned  by  millions  of  years,  and  whose 


Generations  in  Succession.  273 

existence  is  measured  by  hundreds,  or  thou- 
sands of  millions  of  years  ?  It  is  indeed  of 
great  interest  to  know  that  the*  changes  do 
occur, — that  the  stars  have  limited  terms  of 
existence,  however  long, — that  they  have  begin- 
ning and  end. 

As  surely  as  there  are  generations  of  human 
beings,  so  there  are  generations  of  stars.  We 
have  met  only  brief  allusions  to  them,  enough 
for  a  basis  of  reasoning  for  minds  that  are  in 
the  habit  of  tracing  things  from  effect  to  cause; 
but  few  will  take  the  time  and  trouble  to  in- 
vestigate mysteries  so  studiously.  General  read- 
ers need  to  have  such  subjects  fully  presented, 
and  points  of  interest  relating  to  them  expressed 
in  full. 

Many  years  hence,  in  the  light  of  new  dis- 
coveries, the  subject  may  be  revived  by  minds 
deeply  interested  in  it.  A  general  recognition 
of  a  long  continued  succession  of  generations  of 
worlds  may  help  men  to  beget  a  better  under- 
standing and  treatment  of  our  own. 

Our  own  world,  when  under  discussion  of  its 
destinies,  will  be  treated,  in  connection  with 
others  of  the  solar  system,  not  as  if  it  were 
—18 


274  Generations  of  Stars. 

the  only  world  or  system  in  existence,  having 
been  formed  in  the  beginning  of  all  things,  and 
might  be  renewed,  or  there  might  be  a  general 
crash  of  the  sun  and  planets,  and  an  end  of  all 
temporal  things ;  but  as  one  among  millions 
having  a  similar  destiny, — even  as  every  human 
being  is  one  of  a  generation  that  serves  his 
time,  and  is  succeeded  by  others  in  turn  in 
their  generations. 

We  cannot  suppose  that  all  the  worlds  in  the 
universe  were  formed  in  one  generation.  As  the 
generations  of  the  human  race  have  increased 
in  numbers  from  a  few  individuals  in  the  be- 
ginning to  many  millions  at  the  present  time, 
so  the  numbers  in  the  generations  of  worlds 
may  be  presumed  to  have  increased  by  gradual 
additions  from  a  small  number  to  the  present 
innumerable  host  of  them.  This  is  not,  to  many 
minds,  a  familiar  subject.  Some  enlargement 
upon  it  may  be  of  assistance  in  apprehending 
the  suggestions  of  inconceivable  phenomena  pre- 
sented for  consideration. 

An  intimation  that  all  of  the  stars  visible 
and  known  to  exist  in  the  universe  were  created 
during  one  interval  for  a  beginning  of  creations, 


A  Study  of  Generations.  275 

would   be   at   variance  with  all  analogies  of  natu- 
ral increase. 

It  would  not  be  reasonable  to  imagine  the 
great  Creator  existing;1  down  through  eternity 
without  the  creature  company  for  which  He  has 
an  infinite  love,  and  without  any  interest  in 
world  construction,  to  a  comparatively  recent  era, 
and  for  a  beginning,  springing  an  immense  uni- 
verse into  being,  comprising  an  inconceivable 
number  and  variety  of  worlds,  with  all  their 
wonders  of  matter,  and  organic  life,  and  with 
all  the  precision  of  operation  of  existing  natural 
laws.  Rather  suppose  Him  to  have  created  one 
hundred  generations  in  succession,  and  ask,  how- 
ever the  thought  may  carry  us  back, — could 
such  a  creature-loving  God  as  ours  have  been 
without  worlds  and  their  peoples  through  all 
eternity  previous  to  those  generations?  Extend 
the  inquiry  another  hundred  generations  back 
and  ask,  could  He  be  supposed  to  have  been 
without  His  creature  company  through  all  eter- 
nity before  that  interval?  We  are  unable  to 
answer  the  questions,  but  the  consideration  of 
them  may  prepare  us  to  admit  the  possibility 
of  the  passage  of  so  many  generations,  and 


276  Generations  of  Stars. 

down   through   them    the   gradual    increase    of  the 
number  of  worlds  of  the  universe. 

But  a  few  years  since,  men  thought  but  little 
of  the  habitability  of  planetary  worlds  belonging 
to  the  fixed  stars.  Now  astronomers  generally 
accept  the  belief,  but  it  has  not  grown  to  such 
an  influence  as  to  enter  into  questions  of  the 
destiny  of  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants.  If  one 
habitable  world  accompanies  every  fixed  starr 
many  of  which  are  growing  old,  while  others 
are  now  forming,  then  they  may  all  be  treated 
as  passing,  like  the  people  of  this,  our  world, 
in  generations ;  our  own  as  one  in  a  generation, 
moving  on  to  its  destiny,  a  change  in  which  it 
will  give-  place  to  others,  which  in  their  turn 
will  be  succeeded  by  others.  Though  we  may 
not  witness  any  of  the  changes,  if  we  would 
not  confine  our  thoughts  too  closely  to  the  pres- 
ent time  and  this  little  world ;  if  we  would 
have  a  comprehensive  understanding  of  the  star 
worlds  of  the  universe,  we  shall  recognize  their 
generations,  and  cherish  an  interest  in  them. 
While  the  human  mind  can  form  no  conception 
of  the  length  of  time  of  a  generation  of  worlds, 
it  is  no  more  difficult  to  conceive  of  the  num- 


Terms  of  Existence  of  Stars.  277 

bers  of  their  succession  than  of  the  numbers  of 
human  generations.  The  discussion  of  them  will 
serve  to  expand  our  views  of  creation,  and  of 
the  universe  of  worlds. 

Having,  in  our  investigation,  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  there  are  successive  generations 
of  worlds,  the  recognition  of  each  recurring  phe- 
nomenon follows, — they  pass  through  the  various 
stages  of  existence,  -  youth,  maturity,  old  age 
or  decrepitude,  and  death.  Unlike  human  beings, 
however,  they  all,  doubtless,  arrive  at  a  good 
old  age:  We  may  yet  be  able  to  learn,  by 
their  complexion,  of  some  stages  of  their  ex- 
istence. 

It  is  observable  that  intensely  heated  rocks, 
while  gradually  cooling,  pass  through  various 
shades  of  color,  always  to  a  dark  color  at  the 
last  stage  of  luminosity.  Colors  and  shades  vary 
in  rocks  of  different  kinds,  but  that  there  is  pro- 
cession from  the  light  color  of  intense  heat  to 
the  dark  color  of  the  cold  rock,  is  undeniable. 
At  a  temperature  of  fifty-five  hundred  degrees 
and  upward  we  would  expect  to  see  a  brilliant 
light  complexion,  but  a  very  marked  change  to 
a  dark  color  at  a  much  lower  temperature.  In 


278  Generations  of  Stars. 

like  manner,  stars  unquestionably  pass  through 
various  shades  in  cooling, — light  colored  at  first, 

O '  O  * 

and   always   gradually    darker    toward    the    last. 
In    the    full    vigor    of    their    new    life    all    dark 

o 

colors  are  concealed  by  the  flaming  intensity  of 
their  heat,  and  their  color  must  be  light, — of 
shades  varying  but  little  from  white  to  ruddy. 
This  is  assumed  as  a  general  rule  to  which 
there  may  be  exceptions,  but  they  do  not  dis- 
prove the  assumption  in  regard  to  a  change  of 
complexion  with  the  occurrence  of  old  age. 

As  the  stars  pass  from  the  extreme  brilliancy 
of  youth  to  early  maturity,  those  shades,  if 
there  are  such,  may  give  way  to  white,  which 
is  said  to  be  the  color  of  our  sun  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 

Planets  are  so  much  smaller  than  the  suns 
around  which'  they  revolve  that  they  cool  much 
faster.  After  attaining  a  temperature  that  ren- 
ders them  habitable,  a  slight  cooling  of  a  few 
degrees  renders  them  again  uninhabitable.  The 
period  during  which  a  world  can  be  occupied 
by  human  beings  is  so  brief  in  the  life  of  a 
sun  that  no  change  is  observable  in  its  color 
during  the  period. 


Complexions  of  Stars.  279 

Any  cooling  of  the  sun  that  would  affect  a 
change  of  its  color  to  a  darker  shade  would 
involve  such  a  diminished  supply  "of  heat  to 
the  earth  that  life  could  no  longer  be  supported 
upon  it.  Then  the  earth,  and  doubtless  all  the 
planets,  would  be  dead  worlds.  The  sun  also, 
for  -all  heating  purposes,  would  be  exhausted, — 
a  dying,  or  dead  sun.  Yet  it  would  appear 
among  the  stars,  a  brilliant  gradually  darken- 
ing star,  such,  during  millions  of  years,  as  are 
many  in  the  heavens,  which,  from  this  analogy, 
may  be  regarded  as  dead  suns,  moving  with 
their  skeleton  systems  in  silent  desolation  to 
their  inevitable  destiny — cold  oblivion. 

Stars  that  were  formerly  of  the  first  magni- 
tude, and  many  millions  of  years  past  were 
heating  and  lighting  glorious  systems  of  worlds, 
now  faded  to  a  condition  of  obscurity,  may  be 
moving  and  staying  among  a  new  and  rising 
generation,  like  some  aged  persons, — their  day 
of  alert  energy  past,  and  waiting  the  time  of 
their  dissolution.  It  is  by  thus  studying  the 
conditions  of  light  and  heat  as  indications  of 
life  or  death  in  our  solar  system,  that  we  may 
be  able  to  interpret  the  condition  of_  worlds  in 


280  Generations  of  Stars. 

other  systems  by  the  complexion  of  their  suns. 
In  a  faithful  study  of  star  life,  it  may  be 
presumed  that  all  stars  of  dark  colors  have  sur- 
vived their  usefulness  as  heaters,  and  have  be- 
come dead  suns,  surrounded  by  dead  planets,— 
everything  dead  excepting  comets  and  their  re- 
sulting streams  of  meteoroids,  which,  hafing 
withstood  without  injury  the  extreme  heat  of 
their  suns,  may  not  be  affected  by  the  diminu- 
tion of  their  heat. 

If  the  multitudes  of  the  stars  of  the  universe 
may  be  compared  to  the  generations  of  man- 
kind, being  in  both  cases  of  all  ages,  youth, 
maturity,  and  old  age ;  then  in  both  cases  com- 
plexions furnish  some  criterions  of  the  vari- 
ous ages. 

There  may  be  those  who,  by  failure  to  grasp 
the  significance  of  the  phenomena  pertaining  to 
star  life,  and  the  sequences  of  the  various 
changes  in  them,  think  that  great  mysteries  are 
herein  treated  too  familiarly,  and  that  too  in- 
timate knowledge  of  them  is  claimed.  We  only 
claim  the  privilege  of  using,  to  the  best  of  our 
ability,  the  faculty  of  discernment  in  observing 
the  phenomena  of  nature,  and  of  following  the 


Exploration  of  Stardom.  281 

-effect  of  the  application  of  well  known  natural 
laws  in  the  interpretation  of  changes  occurring 
in  the  starry  universe. 

To  do  less,  when  engaged  in  the  work,  is  to 
make  scant  use  of  our  faculties  and  privileges, 
and  to  do  little  honor  to  the  author  and  giver 
of  them.  A  discussion  may  be  opened  in  which 
others  may  join  to  a  profitable  issue,  sooner  or 
later. 

Every  new  field  of  exploration  of  the  heavens 
— every  extension  of  a  field  in  them  brings  to 
view  new  wonders,  and  farther  display  of  the 
power  and  glory  of  Him  who  is  the  Creator 
and  Upholder  of  all  things  from  everlasting  to 
everlasting. 

It  ought  not  to  be  an  unconsidered  mystery 
that  the  fixed  stars  have  their  limited  span  of 
usefulness  in  heating  and  illuminating  their  plan- 
ets, and  that  they  survive  that  span,  and  become 
dead  suns. 

Whatever  knowledge  of  the  conditions,  or 
stages  of  usefulness  of  the  stars  may  be  gained 
through  their  various  colors,  is  proper  subject 
of  inquiry  by  aspirants  after  knowledge.  As 
wonders  of  creation,  those  orbs  are  unsurpassed, 


282  Generations  of  Stars. 

and  every  item  of  information  to  be  gained  from 
them,  or  relating  to  them,  deepens  our  interest 
in  them.  Thus  may  men  do  honor  to  them- 
selves as  intellectual  beings. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


DISSOLUTION  OF  WOKLDS. 
"All  forms  that  perish,  other  forms  supply." 

We  have  seen  that  old  worlds  have  been  ac- 
cumulating, unless  they  were  removed,  or  were 
disposed  of  otherwise.  If  no  disposition  of  the 
worlds  of  the  past  generations  has  been  made, 
the  dead  worlds  still  moving  far  exceed  in  num- 
ber those  that  are  yet  in  their  span  of  useful- 
ness, and  they  are  still  accumulating.  If  no 
disposition  has  been  made  of  them,  their  num- 
bers may  be  sufficient  to  fill  all  the  interstices 
in  the  Milky  Way,  and  in  all  other  clusters,— 
perhaps  also  to  form  older  clusters.  Many  gen- 
erations of  them,  though  of  inconceivable  length 7 
must  have  run  their  course.  The  heavens  are 
strewn  with  their  remains, — innumerable  dead 


284  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

suns  with  their  "systems, — dark,  desolate,  and 
useless.  So  they  must  remain  while  gravitation 
holds  uninterrupted  sway. 

There  may  have  been  scores,  or  hundreds  of 
generations.  It  would  not  seem  to  accord  with 
natural  methods  to  continue  supplying  new 
matter  for  universes  of  worlds  while  the  sub- 
stance of  them  could  be  used  repeatedly, — those 
vast  accumulations  of  dead  worlds  meanwhile  re- 
maining to  be  guided  in  their  courses,  or  left 
to  fly  at  random. 

It  is  a  privilege  with  which  the  reasoning 
powers  are  endowed,  to  inquire  into  the  mys- 
teries of  the  universe  of  worlds,  and  to  investi- 
gate carefully  all  matters  of  interest  connected 
with  them.  There  are  no  sure  records  of  the 
removal,  or  dissolution  and  dispersion  of  them 
by  collisions  or  otherwise.  But  the  natural  pro- 
cess of  the  dissolution  of  all  organic  substances 
is  well  known  to  be  by  gasification  and  atomic 
dispersion,  or  in  other  words,  by  transformation 
of  substance  whereby  the  power  of  repulsion 
overcomes  that  of  gravitation,  with  the  result 
of  a  dispersion  of  substances  in  the  form  or 


Dissolution  of  Worlds  Discussed.        285 

similitude  of  primordial  matter.  All  this  result 
is  well  known  to  be  by  natural  process. 

Is  it  not  possible  that  by  similar^  means,  at 
the  proper  time,  the  inorganic  substances  of 
worlds  will  become  subject  to  a  similar  process, 
and  power  of  repulsion,  thus  effecting  their  dis- 
solution and  dispersion  throughout  the  regions  of 
space?  Thus,  by  analogy,  the  probable  process 
of  the  dissolution  of  worlds  is  explainable.  The 
only  difficulty  apparent  is  in  the  transformation 
of  inorganic  matter.  That  may  be  effected  when 
all  the  gaseous,  cometic,  and  other  substances 
that  may  have  been  eliminated  in  the  beginning 
from  the  remainder  for  its  preservation  shall  be 
reunited  with  it,  subjecting  it  to  the  disintegra- 
ting power  of  an  unknown  menstruum.  Or  other- 
wise, it  is  well  known  that  very  destructive 
compounds  may  be  formed  by  a  union  of  a  few 
simple  elements  in  which  there  may  appear  no 
vitiating  tendencies.  So  unknown  means  for  a 
very  rapid  disintegration  of  a  globe  may  be 
developed  under  possible  natural  conditions. 

As  organic  forms  remain  intact  till  they 
have  served  the  purpose  for  which  they 
are  designed,  and,  with  their  substances,  are 


286  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

invariably  afterward  dissolved,  so,  following  the 
analogy,  it  may  be  presumed,  that  inorganic 
forms  and  substances  also  must  end  in  dissolu- 
tion after  having  served  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  assembled.  As  the  term  of  service 
of  the  latter  continues  while  populations  remain, 
mankind  cannot  witness  their  dissolution,  but  it 
should  not  therefore  be  presumed  that  it  will 
not  occur  when  the  worlds  shall  have  served 
the  purpose  for  which  they  were  designed.  As 
everything  in  the  vegetable  and  animal  king- 
doms end  in  dissolution,  so  doubtless  also  will 
the  substances  of  the  mineral  kingdom  in  their 
natural  course. 

All  other  parts  of  the  process  of  dissolution 
being  theoretically  provided,  it  is  possible  that 
at  some  stage  of  their  existence  there  will  be 
developed  vitiating  elements  in  connection  with 
them  that  will  effect  their  disintegration,  and 

O  ' 

the    dispersion    of   their    substance. 

In  the  disintegration  of  worlds  the  particles 
are,  presumably,  quietly  disseminated  through- 
out the  district  from  which  they  had 
been  gathered  up,  and  repulsion  holds  them 
there.  There  are  two  forces  acting  alternately 


Some  Inscrutable  Mysteries.  287 

under  natural  law.  Worlds  are  formed  very 
gradually  and  quietly  by  accumulations  of  atoms 
under  the  law  of  gravitation.  They  may  be  dis- 
solved as  gradually  and  quietly  by  dispersion  of 
atoms  under  the  law  of  repulsion.  While  gravita- 
tion is  in  force  between  organic  bodies  and  the 
earth,  repulsion  and  diffusion  of  matter  goes  on 
in  the  dissolution  of  the  bodies.  So  while  grav- 
itation holds  between  worlds,  repulsion  and  dis- 
persion of  matter  may  be  expected  to  go  on 
at  the  proper  time  for  their  dissolution.  It  is 
evident  that  the  two  forces  do  work  locally 
together,  though  actually  in  opposition  to  each 
other.  The  explanation  of  the  anomaly  is  in 
the  form  of  matter.  When  solid  it  is  under 
gravitation.  When  gaseous  it  is  under  repulsion, 
though  some  gases  are  not  so  affected. 

While  nothing  certain  can  be  known  of  the 
destiny  of  worlds,  it  appears,  in  the  discussion 
of  the  subject,  that  where  so  slight  a  change 
stands  between  the  necessary  dissolution  of 
worlds,  and  a  useless,  overwhelming  accumulation 
of  them,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  their  dis- 
integration. 

All     accounting   for    the   processes    of   the   gen- 


288  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

esis  and  dissolution  of  worlds  may  be  done  by 
the  instrumentality  of  natural  laws.  It  is  grat- 
ifying to  be  able  to  say  it  is  not  difficult  to 
conceive  a  possibility  of  a  development  within 
a  world  of  the  means  for  its  disintegration, 
and  diffusion  of  its  substance  throughout  the 
regions  of  space.  It  would  be  equally  gratify- 
ing to  be  able  to  conceive  the  possibility  of  a 
naturally  occurring  development  in  the  regions  of 
space  whereby  the  primordial  matter  held  there 
under  the  power  of  repulsion  should  be  brought 
under  the  law  of  gravitation,  but  no  analogies 
appear  to  be  available  for  solving  the  mystery 
of  the  transformation. 

Philosophy  may  fail  to  discover,  and  science 
to  prove  some  parts  of  the  process  of  the  evo- 
lution of  worlds  from  primordial  matter,  and 
of  the  reverse  process  of  the  dissolution  of 
worlds  and  diffusion  of  primordial  matter  in 
the  districts  of  space.  Conspicuous  failures  in 
some  important  particulars  may  be  more  essen- 
tial to  the  highest  interests  of  mankind  than 
the  achievement  of  success  in  the  search  after 
knowledge.  Men  are  so  prone  to  conceit,  and 
pride  of  achievement,  that  success  in  accounting 


An  Ignoble  Pedigree  Claimed.  289 

for  every  phenomenon  by  natural  laAvs  would 
so  far  exempt  them  in  their  judgment,  and  by 
their  inclination,  from  a  sense  of  dependence 
upon  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  '•universe  that 
they  would  fail  to  recognize  His  agency  in  any 
occurrence,  or  operation  of  its  laws.  Then 
would  follow  a  failure  to  recognize  Him  in 
any  capacity.  Under  a  proud  satisfaction  of 
their  own  sufficiency,  the  hearts  of  men  would 
be  lifted  up  to  disown  their  Maker.  The  vota- 
ries of  science  would  ignore  and  abjure  their 
Supreme  Master  of  all  science. 

A  knowledge  of  their  own-  allotment  in  the* 
universe  is  of  far  more  value  to  them  than 
that  of  any  laws  of  matter.  Even  now  crea- 
tures of  His  bounty  are  found  who  prefer  to 
profess  themselves  the  descendants  of  monkeys 
rather  than  to  confess  their  origin  direct  from 
the  Almighty  Creator,  and  they  labor  assidu- 
ously to  prove  it.  There  may  be  many  miss- 
ing links  in  their  chain  of  evidence,  and  they 
confess  it,  yet  they  are  so  intent  upon  proving 
their  pedigree  that  they  fondly  trust  to  having 
their  evidence  made  complete,  and  meanwhile 

they    venture   to    assume   the  correctness    of   their 
-19 


290  Dissolution  of   Worlds. 

aspirations.  The  motive  of  their  ambition, 
doubtless,  is  to  be  free,  from  subjection  to  a 
higher  power  under  whom  their  wills  and  passions 
might  be  subject  to  unwelcome  restraints. 

The  question  obtrudes  itself  upon  our  atten- 
tion, can  rnankind  ever  be  entrusted  with  the 
degree  of  knowledge  of  natural  laws  whereby 
all  astronomical  phenomena  can  be  scientifically 
explained  ?  Though  the  Supreme  Master  of 
science  might  grant  such  explanations,  the  high- 
est interests  of  His  aspiring  students  may  re- 
quire that  a  portion  of  the  knowledge  of  mys- 
teries be  withheld  from  them. 

A  recognition  of  the  occurrence  of  successive 
generations  of  worlds  will  give  a  new  interest 
to  many  astronomical  matters.  An  account  of 
successive  generations  as  they  may  be  revealed 
in  a  future  existence  will  constitute  but  a  con- 
tinuous history.  The  appearance  of  new,  and 
the  disappearance  of  old  stars,  will  have  a  new 
significance.  The  prevalence  of  stability  and 
order  through  many  generations  will  be  ac- 
knowledged, and  .  all  fear  of  the  machinery  of 
the  heavens  running  down,  of  dark  worlds  rnov- 


Stability  in  the  Universe.  291 

ing  at  random,  and  of  the  crash  of  worlds  into 
a  lifeless  mass  in  the  end  will  be  dismissed. 

Writers  will  discuss  occurrences  with  refer- 
ence to  a  belief  in  a  long  continued  succession 
of  generations,  rather  than  in  a  beginning  of 
all  things  with  the  present  universe,  such  as  a 
tacit  acquiescence  in  the  drift  of  popular  belief 
has  indicated. 

A  purely  speculative  matter,  for  which  few 
analogies  may  be  found,  has  relation  to  the 
order  in  which  dissolving  worlds  might  disap- 
pear. Solid  globes  would  be  supposed  to  dis- 
solve slowly,  while  gaseous  bodies  would  be 
rapidly  dispersed.  All  small  planets  would  prob- 
ably be  solid  throughout,  as  also  large  por- 
tions, or  all,  of  the  great  planets ;  and  being 
strongly  cohesive,  might  dissolve  slowly,  while 
a  sun  being  mainly  gaseous,  and  incohesive  if 
not  cooled  to  solidity,  might  be  rapidly  dis- 
persed. Bodies  of  all  sizes,  aerolites  as  well  as 
planets,  and  even  scarcely  ponderable  meteoroids 
are  supposed  to  move  continuously  in  orbits ; 
so  dissolving  planets  would  continue  to  revolve 
in  their  orbits,  as  they  diminish  in  size,  till 
they  are  totally  dispersed. 


292  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

If  the  suggested  process  of  the  dissolution  of 
worlds  is  one  step  'among  many  in  the  routine 
of  evolution  of  worlds  more  in  conformity  with 
observed  natural  methods  than  any  others  that 
may  be  suggested,  it  awaits  the  consent  of  pop- 
ular approval.  Repulsion  is  in  force  all  around 
us.  It  is  observed  in  smoke,  in  steam,  in  per- 
fumes, in  many  gases.  For  purposes  of  dissolu- 
tion it  is  only  necessary  to  extend  its  force  to 
other  substances  of  worlds. 

Is  not  this .  hypothesis  a  natural  outgrowth  of 
a  scrutiny  of  nature's  necessity  ?  And  is  it  not 
well  founded  in  reason  upon  nature's  quiet 
methods  ?  There  is  the  necessity  that  the  worlds 
be  removed  to  prevent  an  accumulation  of  them. 
There  is  the  method  of  doing  it,  quiet,  like 
the  apparent  natural  method  of  forming  worlds. 
There  is  no  disturbance  between  systems.  The 
same  matter  is  retained  and  disseminated  through- 
out the  system  districts, — the  ^sarne  weight,  pre- 
serving balance  with  contiguous  systems  through 
all  the  evolution  and  dissolution  of  worlds,— 
the  same  rotary  motion  of  the  districts  con- 
tinued,— all  in  readiness  for  the  next  creation. 

The    suggestion    that    space   is  being  filled  writh 


No  Fear  of  Collisions  of.  Worlds.         293 

the  accumulations  of  generations  of  dead  worlds, 
said  by  some  eminent  writers  to,,  be  possibly 
moving  at  random,  might  unfortunately  give 
rise  to  vague  fears  among  uneducated  classes, 
which  would  render  them  subject  to  wild  ex- 
citement upon  the  publication  of  some  unwise 
prognostication  of  approaching  collisions.  It  may 
be  prudent,  therefore,  to  demonstrate  that  there 
is  no  occasion  for  such  fears. 

Men  appear  to  have  found  a  method  by 
which  worlds  are  formed  through  the  quiet 
nebular  process.  The-  theory  has  grown  slowly, 
but  appears  to  be  well  founded.  Now  the  ex- 
act counterpart  is  found  in  the  dispersing  pro- 
€ess  of  repulsion,  atom  by  atom. 

Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  *  after  discussing  at 
great  length  the  integration  and  disintegration 
of  all  things,  with  especial  reference  to  worlds, 
continues: 

i '  In  any  case  the  conclusion  to  be  drawn  is, 
that  the  integration  must  continue  until  the 
conditions  which  bring  about  disintegration  are 
reached  ;  and  that  there  must  ensue  a  diffusion 
that  undoes  the  preceding  concentration.  This* 
indeed,  is  the  conclusion  which  presents  itself 

First  Principles  of  a  New  System  of  Philosophy,    p.  534. 


294  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

as  a  deduction  from  the  persistence  of  force. 
If  stars  concentrating  to  a  common  center  of 
gravity,  eventually  reach  it,  then  the  quantities 
of  motion  they  have  acquired  must  suffice  to 
carry  them  away  again  to  those  remote  regions 
whence  they  started.  And  since,  by  the  condi- 
tions of  the  case  they  cannot  return  to  those 
remote  regions  in  the  shape  of  concrete  masses, 
they  must  return  in  the  shape  of  diffused 
masse?.  Action  and  reaction  being  opposite  and 
equal,  the  momen'um  producing  dispersion  must 
be  as  great  as  the  momentum  acquired  by  ag- 
gregation ;  and  being  spread  over  the  same 
quantity  of  matter,  must  cause  an  equivalent 
distribution  through  space,  whatever  be  the  form 
of  the  matter.  One  condition,  however,  essential 
to  the  literal  fulfillment  of  this  result  must  be 
specified  ;  namely,  that  the  quantity  of  molecular 
motion  radiated  into  space  by  each  star  in  the 
course  of  its  formation  from  diffused  matter, 
shall  either  not  escape  from  our  siderial  syste'n, 
or  shall  be  compensated  by  an  equal  quantity 
of  molecular  motion  radiated  from  other  parts  of 
space  into  our  siderial  system.  Here, 

indeed,  we  arrive  at  a  barrier  to  our  reason- 
ings ;  since  we  cannot  know  whether  this  con- 
dition is,  or  is  not  fulfilled." 

Reasoning  from  cause  to  effect,  Mr.  Spencer 
arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  is  found  in  this 
treatise  by  arguing  from  effect  to  cause.  He 
•holds  that  to  preserve  an  equilibrium  of  matter, 
force,  and  motion  the  primordial  matter  from 
which  worlds  are  evolved  must,  after  having 


Process  of  Collisions  Analyzed.          295 

served    a   purpose    in    world-forms,    return    again 

to    its    primitive    state  ;    and    suggests  that  it  may 

.• 
do    so    as   a    result   of   worlds    being    precipitated 

together,  and  by  collision  converted  into  a  gas- 
eous condition,  in  which  form  the  substance  of 
them  will  be  diffused  throughout  the  space  it 
originally  occupied. 

Let  us  examine  that  process  of  precipitation, 
and  watch  its  progress.  The  first  precipitation 
in  order  would  be  that  of  the  planets,  one  by 
one,  upon  the  sun.  The  earth,  being  one- three 
hundred  and  thirty  thousandth  of  the  mass  of 
the  sun,  would  be  completely  absorbed  by  it ; 
the  diffusion  of  gases  resulting  not  extending 
beyond  the  nebula  around  the  sun,  which  would 
thereby  be  greatly  enlarged  temporarily,  and 
from  time  to  time  such  enlargement  would  be 
repeated  as  the  planets  with  their  satellites  be- 
come successively  absorbed.  The  sun  would  not 
be  greatly  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  so  many 
globes,  being  seven  hundred  and  forty  times 
larger  than  all  of  them.  Similarly,  the  center 
of  gravity  of  stars  concentrating  to  such  a  center 
might,  with  great  probability,  be  occupied  by  a 
giant  sun,  of  a  volume  that  could  not  be  gasi- 


-  296  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

fied  and  dispersed  by  collision  with  a  star  of 
medium  size,  but  having  capacity  to  absorb,  at 
intervals,  the  surrounding  stars,  being  hundreds, 
or  thousands  of  times  larger  than  they. 

Mr.  A.  Winchell,  in  discussing  the  subject  of 
"the  machinery  of  the  heavens  running  down/' 
drew  a  conclusion  from  instances  of  retarding 
motion  of  worlds,  thus: 

"Are  we  not  compelled  to  recognize  the  fact 
that  every  sun  in  our  firmament,  as  it  journeys 
round  and  round  in  its  circuit  of  millions  of 
years,  is  slowly,  but  surely  approach- 

ing the  center  of  its  orbit  ?  And  in  that  most 
distant  future,  the  contemplation  .of  which  must 
paralyze  our  power  of  thought,  is  it  not  certain 
that  all  the  suns  must  be  piled  together  in  a 
cold  and  lifeless  mass?  '' 

We  are  now  brought  to  a  consideration  of  a 
chaotic  state,  for  in  all  the  movements  of  worlds 
in  the  universe,  the  guidance  of  an  all- wise 

I  O 

Governor  has  been  ignored,  and  everything  is 
to  be  accounted  for  by  the  natural  laws  of 
motion,  persistence  of  force,  and  matter.  The 
catastrophe  supposed  to  be  impending  could  only 
result  from  dead  worlds  moving  at  random,  and 
colliding  as  they  reach  the  center  of  their  orbits. 
In  such  case  as  the  one  suggested,  of  stars 


No  Collisions  of  Worlds.  297 

concentrating  to  a  common  point,  the  center  of 
gravity  might  be  unoccupied.  The  first  star  pre- 
cipitated to  that  center,  encountering  #10  resist- 
ance, would  pass  on  in  a  flight  of  perhaps 
thousands  of  years,  and  meeting  no  resistance 
on  its  return,  mio;ht  continue  to  oscillate  till  a 

o 

score  of  stars  should  have  joined  in  the  hazard 
seeking  strife  without  meeting,  for  the  chance 
of  colliding  would  not  be  one  in  a  thousand 
flights.  Of  collisions  occurring,  few,  if  any, 
would  be  so  direct,  and  of  such  velocity  as  to 
gasify  colliding  worlds. 

If  they  were  gasified,  it  does  not  follow  that 
the  substance  of  them  would  be  diffused  through 
space  and  so  disseminated  as  to  be  in  the  con- 
dition of  original  primordial  matter.  Indeed  no 
colliding  force  could  so  disperse  substances  of 
worlds  that  they  would  fail,  while  subject  to 
the  law  of  gravitation,  to  settle  again  in  a 
body  of  more  or  less  consistency.  One  element 
would  be  wanting  to  disseminate  the  matter 
through  space  in  its  original  form,  and  that 
element  is  the  quality  and  force  of  repulsion 
that  could  be  given  it  in  a  change  of  the  form 
of  substance  from  the  solid  form  of  cosmical 


^ 


298  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

dust  to  the  gaseous  condition  of  primordial 
matter.  When  that  change  is  given  it,  as  it 
may  be  by  some  unknown  natural  process,  there 
will  be  no  occasion  for  collisions  of  worlds,  re- 
pulsion will  quietly  effect  the  dispersion  of  sub- 
stances. As  repulsion  in  gas  causes  it  to  fill 
the  vessel  containing  it,  so  by  repulsion  the 
substances  of  worlds,  when  freed  from  the  law 
of  gravitation,  may  be  dispersed  through  and 
made  to  fill  the  space  from  which  it  came.  It 
will  then  be  in  position  for  another  genesis  of 
worlds. 

By  no  observed  natural  phenomena  are  we 
warranted  in  the  belief  that  there  ever  has  been, 
or  the  fancy  that  there  ever  will  be  a  dissolu- 
tion of  worlds  or  readjustment  of  them  by 
means  of  destructive  collisions  between  them. 

Only  by  a  Supreme  Director  would  such  crashing 
of  worlds  be  made  effective,  and  He  should  be  ex- 
pected to  use  processes  more  in  accord  with  His 
quiet  methods  in  the  evolution  of  worlds,  and 
more  in  accord  with  the  processes  of  dissolu- 
tion of  everything  perishable  in  our  world. 

Would  the  suggestion  relating  to  chance  col- 
lisions of  worlds  relegate  such  occurrences  to  a 


Will  There  Be  Catastrophes,  or  Order?   299 

time  of  accumulation  of  dead  worlds  in  the 
iiiverse  ?  That  time  is  as  nearly  the  present  as 
any  other  age.  We  are  in  the  midsfr  of  gen- 
erations of  worlds.  Many  such  have  strown  the 
realms  of  space  with  their  mighty  globes,  which, 
if  flying  at  random,  would  be  as  likely  to  collide 
with  peopled  worlds  and  life- supporting  suns  as 
with  any  others.  As  new  worlds  are  forming 
continually,  so  continual  disposition  has  to  be 
made  of  those  of  past  generations. 

As  no  order  can  be  preserved  without  the 
direction  of  an  intelligent  order  preserving 
power,  a  question  may  be  permissible  in  the 
following  form  :  which  is  the  more  probable 
course  of  an  order  preserving  power,  a  catas- 
trophe that  will  involve  the  crashing  of  the 
worlds  into  a  lifeless  mass,  or  a  gradual  disso- 
lution and  reconstruction  of  them  in  such  manner 
as  to  cause  no  confusion  by  collisions,  to  dis- 
turb no  equipoise  of  worlds  in  their  orbits  by 
any  bodily  removals,  but  to  preserve  perfect 
order  throughout  systems,  throughout  constella- 
tions, throughout  galaxies,  throughout  the  uni- 
verse. 

A    suggestion    of   the    manner    in    which  worlds- 


300  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

would  collide  which  have  been  supposed  to  be 
drawing  nearer  together  in  their  orbits,  is  pre- 
sented in  the  instance  of  a  binary  star,  the 
orbital  revolution  of  which  is  found  to  be  four 
days.  Probably  the  pair  of  suns  composing  it 
were  much  farther  apart,  and  supporting  each 
a  system  of  worlds,  but  have  been  drawing 
nearer  together  till  no  space  is  observable  be- 
tween them.  Their  orbital  motion  has  been,  and 
is  still,  sufficient  to  prevent  any  precipitation  of 
one  against  the  other. 

If  their  globes  are  gaseous,  as  our  sun  is 
supposed  to  be,  they  will  probably  settle  to- 
gether almost  as  slowly  as  they  have  approached 
each  other,  the  orbital  becoming  the  axial  mo- 
tion. The  planetary  planes  of  the  two  suns  and 
their  systems  would  nearly  coincide,  owing  to 
the  rotary  motions  of  the  contiguous  districts 
in  which  they  were  formed.  Consequently,  as 
they  gradually  draw  near  each  other,  each  sun 
would,  at  intervals,  absorb  the  planets  encir- 
cling the  other.  The  independent  axial  motion 
of  each  star  would  be  arrested  as  the  two  stars 
gradually  settle  together  into  one. 

This  may  be  taken  as  a  probable  process,   with 


Dark  Stars  Dead  Suns.  301 

some  variations,  of  the  collisions  of  stars  that 
approach  each  other,  or  that  approach  centers 
of  gravity  in  orbital  circuits.  It  may  be  worthy 
of  recognition  in  estimates  of  the  value  of  col- 
lisions of  stars  for  restoring  an  equilibrium  of 
matter  by  dispersion,  or  for  producing  heat  or 
motion. 

It  is  said  of  the  pairs  called  double  stars,  the 
members  of  which  are  of  different  colors,  that 
the  smaller  is,  in  all  cases,  the  darker  one. 
May  it  not  be  that  the  light  of  the  dark  star, 
being  a  waning  sun,  fails  to  truly  represent  its 
size?  It  may  be  as  large,  or  larger  than  the 
light  colored  star.  Doubtless  in  many  instances, 
it  is,  but  owing  to  the  failure  of  its  light  in 
its  old  age,  it  appears  to  be  the  smaller  star, 
and  probably  is  a  dead  sun.  If  its  dissolution 
by  the  power  of  repulsion  follows,  the  matter 
being  -retained  in  its  vicinity,  or  district,  though, 
perhaps,  in  the  gaseous  state  for  a  'considerable 
interval  of  time,  yet  having  full  weight,  the 
same  when  dispersed  throughout  its  district  as 
when  in  form  of  solid  globes,  the  equipoise  of 
the  pair  is  preserved,  and  their  relative  orbits 


302  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

are  undisturbed,  as  also  their  influence  on  sur- 
rounding stars. 

The  pair  may  be  alternately  dissolved,  and 
reconstructed ;  but  the  removal  of  one  bodily 
from  its  orbit  would  greatly  disturb  the  other, 
how  disastrously,  no  one  can  say.  Doubtless 
the  removal  of  a  single  star  would  also  disturb 
those  contiguous  to  it,  but  upon  its  dissolution 
by  atomic  repulsion,  the  full  weight  of  its  mat- 
ter being  retained  in  its  district,  their  balance 
would  be  preserved. 

Record  has  been  made  of  organisms  of  which 
eight  millions  may  be  comprised  in  the  com- 
pass of  a  grain  of  mustard  seed.  Each  one  is 
composed  of  many  atoms,  and  if  ground  finely 
to  powder,  will  give  an  approximate  idea  of 
the  minuteness  of  cosmical  dust  from  which 
worlds  are  formed,  and  into  which  the  mighty 
worlds  are  reduced  in  the  process  of  repulsion 
and  diffusion.  Then  let  atoms  be  crowded  con- 
tinually farther  out  through  the  etherial  dis- 
trict spaces,  and  there  will  be,  as  nearly  as  we 
can  understand  it,  what  is  implied  by  impalpa- 
ble matter  of  which  worlds  are  formed. 

The     atomic     matter,     while     being     dispersed, 


Order  in  Genesis  of  Worlds.  303 

might  be  retained  in  nebulous  form  instead  of 
being  disseminated  throughout  the  district.  It 
would  thus  be  ready  for  the  next  creation,  but 
it  would  not  be  so  well  adapted  to  the  forma- 
tion of  a  new  world.  It  would  be  at  a  low 
temperature,  or  destitute  of  heat,  and  in  the 
process  of  condensation,  would  fail  to  develop 
it  in  a  proper  amount.  If  the  cosmical  mat- 
ter of  the  district  were  all  comprised  in  such 
condition  in  the  great  nebula,  it  wrould  be  gath- 
ered and  condensed  at  once  into  the  globes  of 
the  system.  There  would  be  no  reserve  supply 
to  be  gradually  gathered  for  the  continual  nour- 
ishment of  the  sun.  We  learn  from  our  anal- 
ogy that  it  is  far  better,  and  indeed  necessary 
for  prolonging  the  life  of  the  sun,  that,  follow- 
ing its  formation,  there  should  still  be  a'  large 
supply  of  matter  constantly  gathering  through- 
out the  district,  and  nourishing  it,  replenishing 
its  vigor,  repairing  its  losses,  and  prolonging 
its  serviceableness. 

Intervals    of   inconceivable    length    are   required 

for    cooling   the   planets,   and    preparing  them  for 

the  abode   and    enjoyment   of    intellectual    beings, 

—intervals    too     long,    it   may    be,    for    the    con- 


304  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

tinuance  of  the  sun  in  vigor  through  the  time- 
of  their  need  by  any  other  method  than  that 
of  being  constantly  nourished  and  recuperated 
till  the  period  of  its  culmination  is  attained  in 
the  maturity  of  usefulness  of  its  solar  system. 
The  renewal  by  fire  would  present  the  same 
difficulty.  There  would  be  no  provision  for  the 
continual  sustentation  of  the  sun's  energy. 

There  seems  to  be  an  expectation  on  the  part 
of  some  people,  of  a  literal  fulfillment  of  a 
prophecy  of  UA  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth. 'r 
They  understand  that  the  earth,  the  globe  on 
which  we  dwell,  is  to  be  burned  up,  or  purified 
by  fire,  and  again  fitted  for  the  abode  of  man. 
Let  us  see  what  is  implied  in  that  refitting 
the  earth.  Being  burned  up  does  not  necessa- 
rily imply  a  reduction  of  it  to  a  molten  con- 
dition, but  it  implies,  at  least,  a  combustion  of 
the  surface,  and  a  destruction  of  all  organic 
life.  After  being  purified  by  fire,  a  very  long 
time  would  be  required  for  cooling,  and  prep- 
aration of  it  for  a  desirable  place  of  residence. 
Whatever  would  be  its  condition  as  a  place  of 
residence,  it  could  not  be  perpetual.  Together 
with  the  sun  it  would  need  to  be.  refitted  from 


Question  of  Refitting   Worlds.  305 

time  to  time.  The  length  of  .time  required  for 
refitting  would  exceed  the  time  of  occupancy* 
The  refitting  would  include  a  period  during 
which  the  temperature  of  the  globe  must  be 
reduced,  possibly,  thousands  of  degrees.  Then 
a  farther  reduction  of  less  than  twenty  degrees 
would,  probably,  limit  the  period  of  occupancy, 
which  would  therefore  be  but  a  small  fraction 
of  the  time  required  for  refitting.  If  these 
estimates  of  intervals  of  refitting  are  not  cor- 

o 

rect  for  all  cases,  they  are  sufficiently  so  for 
illustration  of  an  unstable  condition  of  the  wrorld 
for  occupancy.  Perhaps  with  some  other  inter- 
pretation of  the  prophecy,  a  less  transitory 
place  of  residence  may  be  found.  We  have  yet 
to  learn  of  any  process  of  natural  law  by  which 
the  earth  could  be  purified  by  fire.  It  could 
be  done  only  by  a  stupendous  miracle,  such  as 
is  not  our  province  to  discuss.  Worlds  may  be 
classed  with  all  other  things  that  live,  and 
die, — one  destiny  awaits  all, — "Dust  thou  art, 
and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return."  This  dis- 
cussion of  the  limited  existence,  and  dissolution 
of  the  stars  is  presented  as  a  matter  of  interest- 
ing import,  though  in  part  merely  speculative. 
—20 


306  Dissolution  of  Worlds. 

There  can  be  no  question  of  the  termination 
of  usefulness,  and  limited  existence,  of  all 
stars, — of  all  worlds.  All  must  become  dead 
worlds.  New  worlds  are  constantly  being  formed. 

Are  old  worlds  suffered  to  remain  and  accumu- 
late ?  Are  they  removed  ? 

Are  they  dissolved,  and  dispersed  by  atomic 
repulsion  ? 

Can  any  other  disposition  be  supposed  for 
them  ? 

The  consideration  of  these  questions  may  be 
found  edifying,  though  they  may  remain  unan- 
swered while  man  walks  the  earth. 

The  limited  existence  of  stars  implies  that 
the  present  generation  has  been  preceded  by 
others,  as  doubtless,  they  have  by  many  others. 

At  every  step  in  exploring  the  universe  of 
stars,  we  are  met  by  apparent  infinities, — infin- 
ity^of  distance, — infinity  of.  numbers,  now  infinity 
of  generations  of  them.  Could  we  multiply  the 
aggregate  of  each  generation  by  the  number 
of  them,  we  would  find  the  worlds  that  have 
existed  to  the  present  time  would  be  as  num- 
berless as  the  sands  on  the  sea  shore. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


INTELLIGENCES.     THEIK  INTERESTS^ND  DESTINIES. 

"  O  nature,  how  in  every  charm  supreme ! 

Whose  votaries  feed  on  raptures  ever  new  ! 
O  for  the  voice  and  fire  of  seraphim, 

To  sing  thy  glories  with  devotion  due!" 

Nearly  all  speculations  in  regard  to  the  hab- 
itability  of  other  planets  than  the  earth,  found 
in  the  literature  of  to-day,  have  regard  to  the 
present  time  only.  Is1  not  any  other  period  of 
time  as  opportune  for  them  ?  The  heat  of  the 
sun  may  have  been,  at  some  time,  a  million 
of  years  past  more  or  less,  sufficient  to  give 
the  planet  Mars  a  temperature  equal  to  that 
now  enjoyed  upon  the  earth.  It  may  have  been 
inhabited  while  in  that  condition,  but  owing  to 
the  diminishing  heat  of  both  the  planet  and  the 
sun,  it  has,  probably,  long  since  become  too 


308     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

cold.  It  is  more  reasonable  to  suppose  it  may 
have  been  inhabited  while  in  a  condition  anal- 
ogous to  the  present  condition  of  the  earth, 
than  that  a  different  combination  of  circum- 
stances adapt  it  to  be  inhabited  contemporane- 
ously with  the  earth. 

Venus  may  now  be  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
her  carboniferous  period  preparatory  to  being 
inhabited  a  million  'of  years  hence,  or  when  the 
present  intensity  of  the  heat  and  light  of  the 
sun  on  that  planet  shall  'have  abated  to  the  de- 
gree that  the  earth  now  enjoys.  If  Mars  was 
inhabited  long  ago,  it  may  not  have  been  pre- 
maturely occupied,  nor  its  inhabitants  barbarous 
because  of  having  so  long  preceded  the  present 
age ;  so  also  the  populations  of  Venus  are  not 
to  be  commiserated  for  appearing  too  late  to 
enjoy  the  present  superlative  age. 

Is  it  not  due  to  progress  in  enlightenment 
to  enlarge  our  views  of  creative  eras,  to  recog- 
nize in  other  ages,  and  other  eras,  the  proba- 
bility of  as  much  activity,  as  wonderful  dis- 
plays, and  as  brilliant  achievements  as  we  claim 
for  our  own  ?  Broader  views  may  spring  from 
a  wider  recognition  of  a  long  succession  of  past 


Mighty  Procession  of  Generations.       309 

generations  of  worlds.  Cannot  we  be  as  deeply 
interested  in  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Mars, 
and  the  future  inhabitants  of  Venus  .as  we  would 
be  to  so  strain  their  present  conditions  as  to 
make  their  populations  contemporaneous  with  our 
own? 

If  there  are  one  hundred  thousand  worlds  pop- 
ulated at  the  present  time,  and  as  many  in 
every  age,  then  are  all  ages  profoundly  inter- 
esting to  us.  Can  there  be  a  thought  or  con- 
ception more  attractively  sublime  than  that  there 
is  constantly  moving  a  procession,  in  every 
genial  and  soul  quality  and  intellect ;  so  im- 
measurably grand,  along  the  stream  of  time,  and 
majestically  forth  upon  the  ocean  of  eternity  ? 

What  though  the  duration  of  a  generation  of 
stars  is  one  thousand  millions  of  years,  and 
densely  crowded  with  the  grandly  moving  tide 
of  worlds,  rolling  ever  onward  ?  There  has  been 
space  for  a  mighty  procession  of  those  genera- 
tions, extending  down  in  marvellous  number 
from  the  mysterious  beginning.  And  behold,  the 
entire  procession  is  our  inheritance  for  future 
enjoyment,  as  are  also  the  genial  life  fruits  with 
which  the  procession  is  freighted. 


310       Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

Is  our  interest  in  a  star  greater  in  the  orb 
itself ,  or  in  the  habitable  worlds  around  it  ? 
We  cannot  suppose  that  a  sun  is  inhabitable, 
even  if  its  degree  of  heat  could  be  adapted  to 
the  comfort  of  its  inhabitants, — itself  furnishing 
all  the  light,  a  constant  glare, — itself  supplying 
the  unvarying  heat  ;  no  change  of  seasons, — no 
returning  hour  of  repose. 

We  must  regard,  the  star  suns  as  like  our 
own, — useful  mainly  as  stores  of  heat  and  light, 
and  as  regulators  of  motion.  If  our  interest  is 
chiefly  in  the  habitable  worlds  belonging  to  those 
stars,  we  may  inquire  the  length  of  time  that 
such  planets  may  be  occupied  by  intelligent  be- 
ings. Our  own  world  being  analogous,  for  ex- 
ample, we  will  make  an  estimate  of  its  period 
of  being  so  occupied. 

We  understand  it  was  in  process  of  creation 
and  preparation  at  least  fifty  millions  of  years, 
—probably  twice  as  long,  and  has  been  occu- 
pied about  six  thousand  to  ten  thousand  years 
in  round  numbers.  We  do  not  find  the  occu- 
pancy a  ten-thousandth  part  of  the  time  of  ex- 
istence of  the  system,  relatively,  so  far.  If 
in  the  winding  up  at  the  end,  the  period 


Comparative  Occupancy  of  Worlds.      311 

should  be  found  one-thousandth  part,    the    dispro- 
portion would  still  be  overwhelmingly  formidable. 

In  the  term  of  existence  of  the  solar  system, 
there  is  included  a  period  equivalent  to  several 
millions  of  years  for  the  formation  of  the  great 
nebula  out  of  cosniical  dust ;  a  like  period  for 
the  condensation  of  the  nebula  into  solid  globes, 
the  sun  and  its  attendant  planets;  many  mill- 
ions of  years  for  cooling  an^L-  preparation  of 
planets, — a  few  thousand  years  (brief  time)  for 
occupancy  of  the  earth  by  the  human  race,  and 
many  millions  of  years  continuance  of  the  old 
worlds  in  their  orbits  till  some  disposition  is 
made  of  them.  The  interval  of  possession  by 
the  human  race  is  limited  to  the  time  of  the 
reduction  of  the  temperature  of  the  globe  only 
a  few  degrees.  That  the  race  could  bear  a  re- 
duction of  more  than  ten  degrees  may  well  be 
doubted.  Hence  it  appears  that  the  occupancy 
of  a  planet  by  a  race  of  intelligent  beings 
must  be  necessarily  brief, — probably  less  than 
one-thousandth  part,  compared  with  the  interval 
required  to  make  provision  for  such  occupancy. 

If   two    or    three    planets    are    inhabited  in  suc- 
cession,   the   time    of   the   last    one    expires    while 


312     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

the  sun  is  yet  in  full  luminous  condition,  prob- 
ably before  its  dark  shades  appear.  We  may 
ascribe  similar  process  and  progress  to  other 
stars ;  therefore  we  may  reasonably  conclude 
that  the  serviceableness  of  all  the  dark  stars,  as 
suns,  is  past,  and  that  they  only  wait  their 
destiny  either  to  be  added  to  the  accumulations 
of  many  past  generations  of  worlds,  or,  to 
undergo  dissolution — which  will  it  be  ? 

o 

A  most  impressive  lesson  to  be  derived  from 
the  brief  occupancy  of  a  planet,  relates  to  the 
»  value  placed  on  human  souls.  Behold  what  vast 
preparations  are  made,  gathering  impalpable  cos- 
mical  dust  from  an  inconceivably  immense  dis- 
trict, and  by  mighty  displays  of  power,  form- 
ing therewith  a  system  of  worlds,  and  with 
lavish  expenditure  of  labor  and  skill  during 
fifty  millions  to  one  hundred  millions  of  years, 
adorning  and  endowing  them, — all  that  for  a 
brief  period  of  a  few  years  individually,  or  col- 
lectively a  few  thousand  years,  some  favored 
creatures,  made  in  the  Creator's  own  image, 
might  find  therein  lovable  homes,  and  every 
provision  for  comfort ;  and  crowning  the  whole 
with  a  free  offer  of  unceasing  enjoyment  of 


A  Free  Offer.  313 

the  richest  of  all  gifts  to  all  that  would  accept 
the  offer.  Can  it  be  believed  that,  after  being 
so  favored,  while  indebted  to  the  gi^er  for  all 
things,  few  of  those  favored  ones  would  accept 
the  offer? 

It  is  not  our  design  to  make  this  work  an 
advocate  of  religion,  but  the  free  offer  of  the 
Creator  is  so  interwoven  with  His  works,  and 
His  purpose  of  creation,  that  it-'  should  be  re- 
garded as  a  business  matter  between  Him  and 
those  favored  ones,  so  infinitely  is  the  accept- 
ance of  the  offer  in  all  respects  to  their  ad- 
vantage. 

Cultivation  of  a  human  nature  by  an  essen- 
tial course  of  refinement  that  shall  prepare  it 
for  an  ideal  and  most  desirable  existence  on  a 
higher  plane  in  a  future  life,  so  closely  re- 
sembles the  disciplinary  requirements  of  the 
Christian  religion  that  it  is  difficult  to  fully 
state  the  essentials  of  the  former  without  ap- 
pearing to  labor  in  the  interests  of  the  latter. 
A  reader  may  appreciate  the  difficulty,  and  so 
discriminate  between  the  interests  of  the  two 
courses  that  the  interests  of  the  former  may 
not  suffer.  Is  it  not  as  much  a  matter  of 


314       Intelligences,  Inteivsts  and  Destinies. 

creative  interest  that  the  purpose  for  which  all 
things  were  made  should  be  accomplished,  not 
only  on  the  lower  plane  of  inorganic  matter, 
but  on  the  higher  plane  of  enduring  soul  life? 

Let  us  not  shun  the  discussion  of  the  full 
course  of  creation  of  body  and  spirit  to  the 
extent  of  our  capacity. 

Those  that  acknowledge  the  Supreme  Ruler 
will  not  fail  to  see  the  propriety,  and  even  the 
necessity  of  harmonizing  with  Him  in  every- 
thing, because  He  is  all-wise,  His  ways  are 
always  right,  and  He  has'  the  final  adjustment 
of  all  things  in  hand.  Every  one  making  the 
experiment  discovers  the  necessity  of  accepting 
a  constant  course  of  discipline.  A  tendency  to 
waywardness, — a  subjection  to  overpowering  pas- 
sions, and  a  feebleness  of  resistance  to  evil  are 
in  frequent  conflict  with  good  resolutions  to  live 
in  harmony  with  a  perfect  life.  A  fear  of 
consequences  that  begets  continual  watchfulness 
and  circumspection  is  found  to  be  an  essential 
safeguard  aside  from  any  religious  bias  or  asso- 
ciation. Ancient  heathen  philosophers  acknowl- 
edged and  advocated  the  essential  propriety  of 


Authority  in  the  Future  State.  315 

being  under  mach  the  same  course  of  civilizing 
influences. 

Whether  the  giver  of  all  good  things  is  ac- 
knowledged, or  rejected,  He  will  yet  have  that 
unfailing  interest  in  His  every  creature  thatr 
having  graced  His  course  from  the  beginning,, 
shines  through  the  glory  of  the  everlasting^ 
garnished  with  the  ineffable  radiancy  of  love  that 
pervades  and  enriches  all  His  wbrks. 

Will  the  future  state  of  existence  be  higher 
or  lower  than  the  present  ?  Under  whose  au- 
thority ?  Or  will  it  be  under  none  but  the 
laws  of  matter  and  force  ?  Answer  can  only  be 
expected  according  to  belief.  If  no  supreme 
ruler  has  control  of  all  things  in  the  present 
state  of  existence,  it  is  presumable  that  none 
will  have  control  in  a  future  state.  If  dark 
worlds  are  left  flying  at  random,  and  other 
disorder  prevails  in  the  material  universe  because 
of  having  no  supreme  ruling  intelligence,  may 
it  not  be  said  that  there  will  be  the  same  ab- 
sence of  ruling  and  supervision  in  the  future 
state  of  existence,  and  that  beings  not  subject 
to  the  power  of  gravitation  will  be  free  to* 
move  at  will  there,  each  and  every  one  self 


.316     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

governing  ?  If  there  is  to  be  no  supreme  ruler, 
there  can  be  no  social  order  except  by  mutual 
agreement,  and  the  propensity  of  free  will 
beings  to  disagree  is  well  known.  An  infinite 
variety  of  habits,  tastes,  and  propensities  would 
forbid  any  hope  of  association  for  mutual  ad- 
vantage, or  enjoyment.  Supreme,  or  other  wise 
guidance  with  recognized  authority  being  un- 
known, every  one,  on  arriving  in  that  myste- 
rious realm,  would  have  only  to  choose  a  way, 
or  to  move  in  lonely  aimlessness  among  strangers 
of  all  classes,  worlds,  and  eras  ;  among  immense 
multitudes  meeting  rarely  a  wandering  friend,— 
both  wanderers  too  forlorn  for  enjoyable  sym- 
pathy. 

We  have  yet  to  learn  that  there  will  be,  in 
that  future  state,  any  pursuits  to  occupy  the 
time,  or  any  incentive  to  engage  in  enterprise 
for  hope  of  benefit, — matters  that  contribute 
very  largely  to  the  enjoyment  of  this  present 
life.  The  want  of  such  hopeful  interests,  and 
of  means  of  entertainment  could  not  fail  to  add 
.to  the  wretchedness  of  an  aimless  existence, 
ainder  no  better  government  than  an  irresponsible 
-organization,  after  the  pattern  of  a  voluntary 


,  Future  State  Inquiries.  31 T 

club.  Matter  and  human  beings  are  not  alike 
controllable  by  natural  law.  Matter  has  been 
alleged  to  be  subject  to  laws  inherent  in  it, 
but  the  same  cannot  be  supposed,  in  all  respects, 
of  free  moral  or  intellectual  agents.  They,  if 
undisciplined,  are  impulsive,  wayward,  and  per- 
verse. No  assurance  can  be  given,  nor  accepted, 
that  life,  in  association  with  such  beings  in  a  fu- 
ture state,  can  be  made  desirable.  «^A  wandering, 
aimless  life,  without  hope,  would  be  too  wretched 
in  prospect,  to  be  contemplated  as  man's  des- 
tiny. In  his  inmost  nature  he  will  rebel  against 
such  a  doom.  Sweet  as  the  present  life  is 
while  in  it,  a  refined  person  would  not  choose 
a  similar  endless  one,  with  all  its  evils,  especially 
if  deprived  of  its  resources  and  hopefulness. 
Enlightenment  trains  one  for  a  loftier  aim, — for 
a  desire  of  more  of  good,  and  less  of  evil,— 
indeed  even  for  a  perfect  life,  if  such  an  ex- 
istence is  attainable. 

A  full  experience  in  this  life  begets  in  one- 
no  confidence  in  the  ability  of  human  beings 
either  to  effect  a  basis  for  a  perfect  life,  or 
to  maintain  one  if  it  were  once  established^ 


318     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies^ 

Man  has  never  attained  ability  to  keep  himself 
alone  perfect.  Much  less  can  he  control  others. 
In  the  fullness  of  their  conscious  strength 
many  seem  to  ignore  destiny,  but  when  shorn 
of  that  strength,  what  creatures  are  more  help- 
less? The  work  of  establishing,  in  all  its 
requisites,  a  perfect  life  in  a  perfect  state  of 
existence  so  manifestly  requires  unfailing  wisdom 
and  power,  undeniably  only  an  Infinite  Intelli- 
gence can  accomplish  it,  and  only  a  Supreme 
Ruler  can  maintain  it.  Is  not  this  declaration 
clearly  evident  to  every  candid  mind?  Is  it  not 
equally  evident  that  preparation  of  beings  for 
that  perfect  future  life  must  be  made  before 
entering  upon  it  ?  Would  that  be  a  perfect 
social  state  in  which  tyros  in  virtue  were  being 
disciplined  into  fitness  for  it, — often  stumbling, 
— sometimes  falling,  and  occasionally  going  down 
to  ruin  ?  No,  clearly,  only  those  can  be  per- 
mitted to  enter  that  perfect  state  that  are  fully 
prepared  for  it.  As  clearly  the  preparation 
must  be  made  in  the  present  state  of  existence. 
And  as  clearly  the  wisdom  required  to  main- 
tain a  perfect  state  of  existence  is  necessary  also 
in  the  preparation  of  its  members.  In  that  dis- 


Progress  Toward  the  Perfect  Life.       319 

ciplinary  preparation,  a  knowledge  of  every  deed, 
every  word,  and  every  thought  is  essential  to 
the  Supreme  Director,  and  indeed  also  every 
desire,  every  propensity,  and  every  surrounding 
influence. 

However  men  may  imagine  that  the  laws  of 
matter,  force,,  and  motion  may  be  made  to  ac- 
count for  all  the  phenomena  of  the  material 
world,  and  for  the  evolution  of^men  from  the 
enlivened  nomad  through  the  survival  of  the 
fittest,  they  must  acknowledge  the  existence  of 
an  impassable  gulf  in  the  progress  toward  the 
attainment  of  that  perfect  state  in  which  selec- 
tion is  not  known  because  only  qualified  perfec- 
tion enters  there, — perfection  that  comes  not  of 
the  accidents  of  matter  but  through  discipline, 
nurture,  and  cleansing  of  the  impurities  that 
have  come  through  connection  with  the  leavening 
properties  of  matter. 

Men  have  had  their  attention  turned  to  the 
perfect  life.  They  have  been  invited  to  enter 
it.  They  are  looking  anxiously  for  it, — longing 
for  it.  Why  should  they  not  ?  After  such  pro- 
fusion of  creative  skill  as  has  been  displayed 
through  millions  of  centuries,  and  among  in- 


320       Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

numerable  worlds,  it  surely  cannot  be  that  the 
culmination  is  to  be  a  partial,  or  total  failure, 
—happiness  and  sorrow  hand  in  hand  forever. 

While  the  theory  of  a  future  perfect  life  has 
not  been  established  scientifically,  a  very  plausi- 
ble concatenation  of  facts  and  observed  tenden- 
cies may  be  brought  in  support  of  it.  The 
obvious  stability  of  the  universe  in  its  vastness, 
the  perfection  of  movement  and  counterpoise  of 
countless  multitudes  of  celestial  orbs,  the  per- 
fection of  order  and  design  in  the  multiplicity 
of  operations  of  the  physical  laws  of  our  own 
globe, — all  sublimely  proclaim  in  a  Supreme 
Ruler  the  power  of  fulfilling  the  promise  and 
expectation  of  a  perfect  life,  and  of  maintaining 
in  it  all  that  may  be  found  in  harmony  with  it. 

A  failure  to  provide  a  perfect  state  of  exist- 
ence for  as  many  as  may  be  prepared  for  it, 
would  not  accord  with  the  observed  tendencies 
to  harmony  in  natural  laws.  Would  it  not  be 
a  violation  of  them, — a  jarring  discord  ?  Is  there 
not  then  a  reliable  basis  for  an  assurance  of  a 
perfect  future  life  ?  If  those  having  that  assur- 
ance are  to  attain  the  fruition  of  it,  only  a 
Supreme  Ruler  can  maintain  them  in  it.  It  fol- 


Perfect  Rule  Only  by  Infinite  Power.      321 

lows,  logically,  that  He  has  the*  preparation  of 
them  for  it.  He  has,  and  must  have  them  con- 
stantly under  His  care  and  discipline.  %  Else  they 
would  not  be  properly  disciplined,  and  could 
not  be  taken  into  a  perfect  life.  Only  a  Supreme 
Governor  can  administer  perfect  discipline. 

This  declaration  of  the  existence,  power,  and 
prerogatives  of  a  Supreme  Ruler  may  be  met 
with  indifference  and  neglect,  but  not  with  dis- 
proof. It  is  as  evident  to  our  consciousness  as 
it  would  be  if  it  were  scientifically  demonstrat- 
able.  There  is  constantly  before  us,  in  our  ex- 
perience, proof  of  the  incapacity  of  finite  intel- 
ligence for  any  reliable  degree  of  order  and  con- 
trol that  could  give  assurance  of  perfect  gov- 
ernment. The  evidence  forced  upon  us  in  our 
experience  is  equally  positive  to  our  conscious- 
ness that  only  by  infinite  power  can  such  gov- 
ernment be  established  and  maintained,  either  in 
this  life,  or  in  a  future  existence.  It  follows 
that  if  there  is  no  power  exercising  dominion 
and  discipline  in  our  present  state  of  existence, 
there  neither  will  be,  nor  can  be  perfect  gov- 
ernment, nor  perfect  life  in  a  later  existence. 

What    can    be    expected  then    in    the    future  state, 
—21 


822       Intelligenees,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

in  that  case,   but  unpreparedness  and   confusion,— 
absence    of    friendly    guidance    and    provident   at- 
tentions— each    compelled    to  seek  his  own  welfare 
in    such    company    as    may    be   found  ( 

Thus,  from  the  consideration  of  a  perfect  life 
in  a  future  state  of  existence  we  progress,  step 
by  step,  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Supreme 
Ruler  has  the  {population  of  the  world  under  • 
discipline,  and  .  all  that  pertains  to  the  welfare 
of  the  people  under  His  control. 

The  discipline  requisite  for  the  preparation  of 
•persons  for  a  perfect  life  cannot  be  measured  by 
examples  of  human  experience  in  government. 
Effective  discipline  requires  not  only  that  candi- 
dates shall  voluntarily  be  under  the  control  of 
a  Supreme  Ruler  in  all  the  ordinary  transac- 
tions of  life,  but  that  He  shall  be  cognizant  of 

'  o 

their  every  action,  word,  thought,  desire,  and 
affection — even  every  secret  motive  and  propen- 
sity ;  else  the  seeds  of  vice  may  be  taking  root 
that  will  eventually  work  the  ruin  of  a  charac- 
ter, unfitting  it  for  the  associations  of  a  perfect 
life. 

The  temptations  to  which  human  beings  are 
constantly  exposed  in  their  weakness  and  forget- 


^472  Infinite  Ruler  Must  Control          323 

fulness  renders  a  continually  active  discipline 
necessary,  and  in  some  cases,  severe  chastise- 
ments also.  Not  only  must  all  life-seekers  receive 
so  careful  attention  personally,  but  so  must  also 
their  environments,  in  order  that  events  may  be 
controlled  whereby  successes  and  failures  may  be 
encompassed,  and  joys  and  sorrows  promoted. 
Then  also  entire  populations  must  be  invited, 
and  warned,  with  careful  observation  of  the  in- 
clinations of  each  individual,  that  none  may 
suffer  from  neglect  or  oversight,  for  everywhere 
people  will,  be  seeking  the  benefit  of  the  dis- 
cipline. 

It  will  also  readily  be  seen  that  to  accom- 
plish so  much,  the  Ruler  must  have  exclusive 
control  of  sunshine  and  rain,  winds  and  storms, 
seed  time  and  harvest,  life  and  death.  If  no 
limit  to  His  control  can  be  found,  it  must  in- 
clude control  over  all  matter  from  the  begin- 
ning. Who  will  define  a  limit?  If  none 
can  be  found,  we  seem  to  have  reached  a 
morally  scientific  demonstration  that  the  future 
perfect  life  will  be  under  a  Supreme  Ruler  who 
controls  all  things  connected  with  the  present 
and  future  of  this  world.  Conversely,  if  there 


324     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

is  no  supreme  ruler  of  this  world  and  all  within 
it,  there  can  be  no  future  perfect  life, — only 
a  confused  mixture  of  good  and  evil, — well  nigh 
anarchy  ;  or  else,  annihilation.  The  discussion  of 

neither    alternative    is    desirable    here    for     writer, 

• 
or  reader.      But  the    glimpse    we  get  of  a  perfect 

life,  under  a  Ruler  who  can  bestow  it,  and 
maintain  it  forever  after,  is  worthy  of  our  best 
attention. 

Is  the  discipline  distasteful  and  uninviting  ? 
It  works  a  change  by  which  it  becomes  attrac- 
tive. Said  one:  ''I  cannot  afford  to  be  careless 
of  my  destiny,  for  I  must  live  with  myself 
forever  ;  and  I  must  see  that  my  self  is  well 
prepared  for  that  destiny." 

Every  one  is  amenable  for  neglect  of  self,  or 
indifference  to  self's  destiny,  and,  by  natural 
law  the  penalty  for  neglect  follows.  Choice  of 
destiny,  acceptance  of  discipline,  and  interest 
in  the  perfect  life  are  philosophically  in  close 
connection.  Necessarily  involved  in  it  is  a  be- 
lief in  a  probationary  state  here,  and  also  in 
the  universal  control  of  a  Supreme  Ruler. 

Matter  as  a  basis,  with  force,  motion,  and 
natural  law,  as  His  agents,  all  work  His  will 


Forms  and  L&\\s  Under  Supreme  Control.  325 

while  He  inscrutably  directs  them  in  the  pre- 
paratory discipline  which  is  to  culminate  in  the 
joys  of  the  perfect  life. 

The  assumption  that  for  that  purpose,  matter 
and  spirit,  with  their  laws,  must  be  under  one 
supreme  control  is  so  evident  as  to  require  no 
argument.  It  is  also  equally  evident  that  the 
control  of  inhabited  worlds  is  inseparable  from 

the  control  of  matter  in  the  formation  of  worlds. 

J 

This  will  appear  more  logical  when  the  great 
fact  is  duly  considered  that  all  the  mighty  prep- 
aration of  worlds,  and  of  organic  life  upon  them 
is  preparatory  to  a  future  state  of  existence  on 
a  higher  plane.  If  it  is  true  that  the  universe 
is  upheld  and  all  the  worlds  controlled  by  a 
supreme  power,  does  science  well  to  ignore  the 
fact?  Is  it  not  the  province  of  science  to  record 
and  announce  the  truth,  whatever  it  may  be  ? 
or  at  least  to  recognize  it  when  it  is  demon- 
strable to  the  consciousness  of  men,  though 
possibly  not  to  scientific  scrutiny  ?  Where  science 
leaves  a  vacancy,  error,  insidiously  and  persist- 
ently injected,  is  allowed  to  usurp  the  place  of 
truth. 

Cannot    science   recognize    the    impossibility    of 


326       Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

matter,  in  the  form  of  worlds,  sustaining  itself 
in  suspension  in  space  throughout  the  universe, 
amid  all  the  complications  of  motions,  powers 
of  attraction,  and  conflicting  disturbances,  through 
millions  of  centuries  ? 

A  question  concerning  the  control  of  matter 
has  given  occasion  for  a  great  conflict  in  opin- 
ion. Can  dead  matter  take  upon  itself  life "{ 
Will  not  science  unhesitatingly  reply  it  is  impos- 
sible ?  Make  the  question  less  abrupt,  thus :  is 
there  not  in  matter  the  promise  and  potency  of 
all  terrestrial  life?  The  ampler  verbiage  does 
not  bridge  the  chasm.  The  same  answer  is 
appropriate.  Yet  there  seems  to  be  in  the  form 
of  the  question  an  implication  that  a  less  abrupt 
reply  might  be  expected.  Hear  another  scientist 
beg  the  question.  With  the  display  of  a  vast  store 
of  information,  most  skillfully  applied,  he  insinu- 
ates that  a  chemico-electric  operation  which 
would  produce  the  nucleated  vesicle  is  all  that 
is  wanting  to  effectually  bridge  over  the  space 
between  the  inorganic  and  the  organic.  Two 
or  three  renowned  scientists  join  in  the  investi- 
gation with  apparent  approval,  and  numerous 
eager  novelty  seekers  follow.  In  eager  anticipa- 


Presumptuous  Hypothesis  Discussed.     327 

tion,  the  point  seems  almost  gained,  but  the 
mystery  remains  as  great  as  ever — almost  equal 
to  that  of  life  itself.  Still  the  credulous  follow- 
ers of  the  delusion  cling  to  it,  trusting  that 
some  fortunate  chemist  will  yet  make  the  dis- 
covery that  will  bridge  the  chasm.  The  changes 
are .  apparently  so  slight  between  varieties,  and 
even  between  species,  that  evolution  seems  tracea- 
ble in  very  many  instances. 

But  to  examine  it  briefly,  si^pose  an  order 
to  have  been  given,  when  the  earth  was  ready 
for  occupation,  somewhat  after  the  method  now 
in  use  for  large  structures,  with  specifications, 
thus  :  There  shall  be  supplied,  as  the  fitness 
of  the  earth  develops  for  the  successive  grades, 
thirty  thousand  species,  and  two  hundred  thou- 
sand varieties  of  infusoria  and  insects.  There 
shall  be  formed  twenty  thousand  species,  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  varieties  of 
higher  orders  of  animals.  Last  of  all,  man,  of 
a  still  higher  order  will  be  formed.  Unavoid-  . 
ably,  in  filling  the  order  for  so  many  species 
and  varieties,  there  must  be  strong  resemblances 
in  the  successive  grades,  so  much  so  that  with 
little  effort  they  could  be  imagined  to  have 


328     Intelligences,  Interests  mid  Destinies. 

developed  from  one  variety  or  species  to  another 
by  evolution  and  natural  selection. 

To  suppose  such  evolution  to  be  effected  under 
intelligent  guidance  would  not  be  deemed  reckless. 
But  to  belittle  and  ignore  supreme  design  and 
wisdom  by  assuming  that  matter  alone  is  suffi- 
cient for  this  work,  having  the  "potency  of  all 
terrestrial  life,'1  has,  to  say  the  least,  little 
appearance  of  reverence,  with  no  apparent  appre- 
ciation of  the  infinite  skill  required  for  the 
infinitesimal  changes,  and  delicate  adaptations 
necessary  for  carrying  out  the  design  of  infinite 
wisdom  in  world  development  and  occupation. 

A  man,  or  other  animal,  is  seen  to  have  not 
only  the  form,  size,  and  proportions  of  his 
progenitor;  but  complexion,  .mental  powers,  and 
even  moral  propensities  are  also  transmitted 
through  the  embryo,  which  has  been  said  to 
"resemble  a  mere  speck  of  albumen,  only  a 
little  grained,"  by  men  who  would  venture  an 
"opinion  that  albumen  might  be  endowed  with  a 
similar  principle  of.  life,  and  their  followers  arc 
hoping  to  see  it  accomplished. 

A  transmission  of  an  entire  natural  character 
through  an  embryonic  form  is  evidence  of  an 


The  Worst  Enemy  of  Self.  329 

organization  in  that  minute  compass,  too  deli- 
cate, and  too  perfect  to  admit  of  even  a  sup- 
position that  it  could  be  accomplished  by  the 
potency  of  matter ;  more  especially  as  a  moral 
nature  is  included  in  the  transmission  through 
the  embryonic  organization.  It  is  inconceivable 
that  any  power  less  than  infinite  can  perform 
such  .wonders. 

What  will  not  men  do  and  believe  to  avoid 
a  wholesome  discipline? — to  beguile  themselves 
of  si  serious  consideration  of  their  destiny?  If 
there  are  spiritual  enemies,  is  not  that  the 
worst  one  of  all  that  neglects  the  proper  dis- 
cipline of  that  self  with  which  he  must  live 
forever  ? 

Lives  there  a  person,  not  quite  depraved,  who 
would  prefer  not  to  have  an  order  preserving 
Supreme  Ruler  in  a  future  state  of  existence  ? 
or  who  would  choose  to  have  his  lot  cast  among 
such  beings  forever  as  this  world's  population 
of  all  classes ;  without  government,  or  only 
such  as  might*  be  provided  among  those  irre- 
sponsible beings  ? 

If  any  prefer  such  a  destiny,  doubtless  they 
will  be  indulged, — outside  of  the  realms  of  per- 


330     Intelligences,  Interests  tmd  Destinies. 

feet  life,  with  those  that  make  the  same  choice. 
The  one  thing  of  which  human  beings  can  be 
consciously  certain  is  that  whatever  may  befall 
their  intellectual  organizations  and  spiritual  na- 
.  tares,  their  mortal  bodies  will  remain  for  a 
time  on  the  earth.  Their  powers  of  mind  and 
conscience  will  probably  be  in  full  activity,— 
more  -  acute  than  in  this  life,  therefore  they 
should  have  full  privilege  and  attention  while 
here.  The  powers  of  reflection  will  not  be  ob- 
scured by  any  cum  bran  ce  of  mortal  body,  and 
will  therefore  be  very  keen.  Most  wisely  may 
they  be  disciplined  in  this  life  to  habits  best 
for  their  destiny. 

Were  the  number  of  suns  and  their  attendant 
planets  limited,  it  might  be  found  expedient  to 
adapt  intellectual  beings,  not  only  to  the  planets 
most  desirable  for  their  occupancy,  but  also  to- 
others, even  to  some  that  are  just  suitable  for 
a  "stone  age"  civilization.  But  there  seems  to 
be  an  unlimited  number  of  star  suns, — doubtless 
every  one  encircled  by  planets..  We  can  but 
wonder  that  so  many  should  be  required,  even 
if  only  one  in  each  system  should  be  chosen 
for  enlightened  use.  We  may  find  a  satisfactory 


One  Best  Plfinel  in  a  System.  331 

reason  why  there  should  be  but  one  planet  in- 
habited in  each  solar  system.  As  there  may  be 
but  one  best  planet  in  a  system,  an  infinitely 
beneficent  Creator  will  place  His  creatures  pos- 
sibly on  that  one  only.  Rather  than  place  any  on 
a  second  best  world,  He  easily  provides  another 
system,  with  another  best  world  for  them.  The 
apparent  innumerable  supply  of  best  worlds 
seems  to  afford  ample  opportunity  for  the  dis- 
play of  such  beneficence. 

Is  it  not  just  that  He,  providing  only  the 
best,  should  require  the  best,  and  accept  nothing 
less,  in  return  ?  If  the  society  He  provides  in  His 
perfect  home  is  formed  on  that  rule, — providing: 
only  the  best,  He  can  accept  only  the  best 
material  for  the  formation  of  the  society. 

We  must  not  pass  too  hastily  over  the  crea- 
tion of  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  world.  It 
is  the  crowning  achievement  of  creative  skill 
and  wisdom.  It  is  the  matured  product  for 
which  all  that  precedes  it  in  the  material  world 
is  preparatory. 

The  wonderful  displays  of  creative  skill  and 
power  in  the  construction  and  upholding  of 
worlds,  and  of  organic  and  inorganic  existences 


.332       Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

upon  them  may  be  taken  as  partial  effects  and 
achievements  of  the  same  infinite  power  and 
wisdom  in  the  creation  and  endowment  of  in- 
telligent beings,  and  the  crowning  triumph  in 
all  those  temporal  worlds.  To  the  intellectual 
beings  was  given  dominion  over  the '  material 
things  ( f  the  worlds,  and  also  the  option  of 
the  higher  life  that  will  be  perpetuated  and 
glorified  when  all  matters  of  physical  sense  shall 
have  fulfilled  their  destiny,  "dust  to  dust." 

Innumerable  as  are  habitable  worlds,  not  less 
than  one  represented  by  every  star  sun  from 
the  beginning, — doubtless  at  least  a  few  persons 
preserved  from  every  one  of  those  worlds ;  we 
wonder  what  an  immensity  heaven  must  be,  to 
afford  room  for  so  many  beings.  It  would  really 
appear  that  but  a  few  can  be  admitted  from 
<each  world ; — can  there  be  any  of  the  second 
best?  If  fellowship  there  is  to  be  so  choice, 
so  much  the  more  desirable  is  admittance  to  that 
eternal  home. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  every  intelli- 
gent faculty  and  desirable  accomplishment  is  dis- 
played there  in  the  highest  perfection,  and  that 
.many  faculties  and  attainments  that  have  not 


Supreme  Value  of  Spiritual  Creations.   333 

been  known  nor  imagined  by  man  will  be  dis- 
closed there,  contributing  beyond  measure  to  the 
enjoyment  of  the  lovers  of  ^superior  .attainments 
and  refined  intercourse.  It  is  difficult  to  find 
words  for  expressing,  or  means  for  illustrating 
the  supreme  value  of  such  creations.  They  are 
beyond  the  use  of  measures  or  estimates.  Their 
priceless  value  will  appear  only  in  a  future  ex- 
istence. We  can  only  attempt  a  discovery  of 
that  value  by  an  estimate  of  the  illimitable  cost 
of  producing  them. 

An  account  of  the  preparation  of  worlds  has 
already  been  feebly  rendered.  Man  having, 
in  his  weakness,  fallen,-  and  become  subject  to 
debasing  evils,  nothing  less  than  the  highest 
possible  price  could  redeem  him.  It  was  freely 
paid.  He  by  whom  the  worlds  were  made,  paid 
the  price,  His  own  life  blood. 

It  appears  then,  considering  all  the  mighty 
preparation,  patient  rearing,  and  awful  cost  of 
redemption,  that  intellectual  beings  are  of  the 
highest  possible  value,- — of  greater  value  than  all 
worlds,  for  those  beings  only  for  whose  sake 
the  worlds  were  made,  survive  their  destruction. 
But  we  are  unable  to  discover  so  high  value- 


Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

in  any  human  being.  All  are  in  some  respects 
fallible, — none  without  some  weakness.  Their 
supreme  value  must  appear  only  in  the  world 
to  come,  in  the  perfect  life.  But  we  are  assured 
"God  sees  in  men  great  possibilities.  As  a 
gardener  sees  in  a  bulb  the  possibility  of  a  tulip, 
so  God  sees  in  the  earthly  man,  morally  and 
spiritually  unkempt,  with  no  form  or  comeliness 
in  him,  the  possibility  of  a  splendid  blossom."* 

Values  may  be  best  expressed  by  comparisons. 
We  are  conscious  of  a  vast  superior  it}'  of  in- 
tellectual power  over  brute  instinct.  We  may 
find  an  equal  advance  of  power  in  the  next  step, 
—that  from  our  present  intellectual  power,  to 
that  with  which  we  may  be  endowed  on  a 
higher  plane. 

If  the  material  creation  is  typical  of  the  in- 
tellectual in  its  immensity,  we  will,  doubtless, 
find  as  much  to  investigate  in  the  wonders  of 
that  world  to  which  we  may  ascend  as  has  been 
discovered  here,  with  the  difference  that  dis- 
coveries here  relate  to  the  phenomena  of  inert 
matter,  there  to  qualities  of  soul  and  intellect, 
abounding  with  life  and  sympathy. 

*  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott.    Sermon. 


Boundless  Felicities.  335 

We  may  expect  to  find  diversities  in  those 
discoveries  to  correspond  with  the  mountains  and 
plains,  rivers  and  oceans,  beautiful ,  landscapes 
and  wondrous  aerial  glories  that  excite  our 
wonder  and  admiration  here. 

Language  is  quite  as  powerless  to  express  the 
ecstasies  with  which  discoveries  will  be  welcomed 
there,  as  it  is  to  give  the  mind  a  comprehen- 
sive appreciation  of  the  inconceivable  distances 
and  numbers  relative  to  our  discoveries  here. 
No  more  expressive  language  may  be  found  for 
the  purpose  than  this:  uEye  hath  not  seen,  nor 
ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man,  the.  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for 
them"  that  gratefully  acknowledge  and  truly 
appreciate  the  benefits  He  has  bountifully  be- 
stowed upon  them. 

Science  deals  only  with  the  phenomena  of 
matter,  and  the  laws  that  govern  it.  Though 
soul  qualities  and  spiritual  essences  are  not  in- 
cluded, being  on  a  higher  plane,  yet  they  are 
a  part  of  the  creations, — the  supernal  part  for 
which  all  others  are  preparatory, — the  nobler 
part  to  which  all  others  are  subject, — the  part 
that  will  endure  after  all  others  shall  have  passed 


336       Intelligences,  fnleiests  and  Destinies. 

away.  They  are  the  -  life-bearing  fruit  of  which 
all  the  preparatory  creations  are  the  husks,  or 
bearers.  Shall  we,  while  on  the  subject  of  the 
genesis  of  worlds,  pass  hastily  over  such  crea- 
tions, or  shall  we  investigate  them,  and  the  laws 
that  govern  them,  with  a  little  of  the  studious- 
ness  that  we  bestow  upon  the  creations  of  the 
lower  plane. 

Though  wre  fail  to  discern  in  human  beings 
any  basis  for  the  high  value  placed  upon  them, 
yet  if  by  acceptance  of  the  offer,  and  consist- 
ency of  life,  they  establish  characters  that  can 
be  accepted,  and  are  admitted  to  the  society 
gathered  in  like  manner  from  all  worlds,  the 
infinite  benevolence  of  the  Creator  does  the  rest, 
and  the  poor  in  spirit,  the  humble  and  the 
meek  are  exalted.  They  honor  the  Creator,  deal 
justly  by  their  own  souls,  and  they  have  their 
reward. 

As  nothing  will  be  hidden,  somewhat  of  the 
supreme  value  of  souls,  just  mentioned,  may  be 
discovered  on  being  admitted  to  the  realm  of 

o 

perfect   life.     What   a    surprise   awaits   every    one 
on    finding    himself    in    such    exalted    company. 
Surprise    awaits    us    in     many     things    that   are 


Feast  of  Mind.  337 

unknown  to  us.  There  finite  beings  and  things 
approach  and  blend  into  the  infinite.  The  harvest 
of  enjoyment  to  be  reaped  as  the>  fruit  of 
having  made  the  better  choice  must  be  without 
limit.  It  will  include  in  the  home  gathering  of 
kindred  spirits,  not  only  those  having  highly 
cultivated  minds  of  all  generations  from  our 
own  earth,  bxit  also  the  same  class  of  minds, 
the  refined,  highly  gifted,  and  congenial  spirits 
from  all  peopled  worlds, — past,  present,  and 
future, — all  dwelling  in  harmony  together,  and 
with  their  indulgent  Father,  in  one  continual 
"feast  of  mind,  and  flow  of  soul,"  not  as 
friends  meet  here,  to  part  again,  but  in  one 
continual  fellowship,  forever. 

Having    in    mind    the    creation    and    destinies  of 

o 

intelligent  beings,  we  must  also  retain  a  busi- 
ness view  of  the  situation,  as  it  vitally  affects 
the  eternal  interests  of  not  only  the  religiously 
trained  and  heavenward  inclined  pilgrims,  but 
also  a  long  line  of  devoted  students  of  nature's 

D 

works,  whose  controlling  inspiration  so  impels 
them  continually  to  self  sacrifice  in  their  eager 
investigation  of  every  natural  phenomenon,  that 

they    forget   that   they    are  themselves  the  crown- 

—22 


338     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

ing  achievements  and  wonders  of  creation,  com- 
pared with  which  all  others  are  of  minor 
importance. 

Could  a  description  comprising  their  present 
and  future  existence,  of  those  spirit  wonders, 
those  creations  of  a  higher  plane, "  be  presented 
in  all  their  fullness,  doubtless  it  would  be 
a  more  surprising  account  of  discoveries  than 
any  yet  attempted  in  this  treatise  ;  not  of  past 
events — phenomena  relating  to  inorganic  matter  ; 
but  of  living  beings  of  the  highest  order,— 
adapted  to  the  fullest  conscious  enjoyment  of 
perfect  life, — entering  into  and  training  for  an 
eternal  association  with  kindred  spirits  of  all 
ages  and  from  all  worlds. 

But  extraordinary  gifts  may  not  be  enjoyed 
without  great  responsibility. 

It  is  expected  and  required  of  the  recipients  of 
the  gifts,  that  in  acknowledgement  of,  and  return 
for  them,  they  shall  strive  to  conform  them- 
selves to  whatever  discipline,  culture,  and  refine- 
ment are  essential  to  qualify  them  for  associa- 
tion with  perfect  beings.  Under  natural  law, 
such  a  course  is  as  essential  to  the  completion 
of  the  plan  of  creation  -as  that  the  surface 


Some  False  Impressions.  339 

of  the  globe,  after  being  formed,  should  undergo 
a  process  of  transmutation  in  preparation  for 
the  abode  of  man.  > 

Were  the  taking  of  measures,  or  the  apprais- 
ing of  values  to  be  attempted  of  the  importance 
of  making  a  wise  choice  in  the  issues  that  con- 
trol our  destinies,  no  figures  could  be  found  to 
declare  the  infinite  result ;  but  ample  intelli- 
gence is  bestowed  for  the  purpose,  with  respon- 
sibility for  the  exercise  of  it,  and  with  warnings 
that  leave  no  excuse  for'  failure  to  accept  the 
benefits  offered. 

Is  it  not  due  to  the  great  Creator,  as  well 
as  the  privilege  of  the  creature,  while  enjoying 
the  study  of  His  works  to  keep  ever  in  mind 
His  beneficent  object  and  purpose  in  creating 
worlds  ? 

Our  business  view  discloses  some  false  impres- 
sions under  which  more  than  a  few  intelligent 
minds  have  labored.  The  means  used  to  induce 
people  to  accept  the  offer  of  eternal  life  are, 
in  some  cases,  so  solemnly  and  continually 
religious  that  many  persons  are  unhappily  mis- 
led by  the  impression  that  the  future  life  is  to 
be  made  up  of  a  similar  increasing  course  of 


340     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies.] 

solemnities,  a  constant  service,  or  series  of  ser- 
vices, and  religious  devotion.  Unfortunately  for 
some  temperaments,  that  process  of  persuasion 
creates  a  dislike  to  the  calling,  so  that  niislod 
souls  complain  of  having  had  a  surfeit  of  it. 

How  much  more  highly  favored  are  those 
before  whom  are  placed  the  attractive  hope  of 
an  enlightened  acquaintance  with  all  worlds,  and 
a  delightful  intercourse  with  their  inhabitants. 

The  perfect  life  will  be  in  the  highest  degree 
enjoyable  to  every  one,  that  attains  to  it.  In- 
dividual preferences  and  tastes  will  be  retained, 
and  every  facility  and  opportunity  given  for 
uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  them. 

Philosophers  will  iind  that  boundless  ocean  of 
wonders  for  which  they  longed  while  gathering 
'  <  here  and  there  a  pebble ' '  on  earthly  shores, 
and  with  others  of  kindred  tastes  from  all 
worlds  will  have  not  only  that  ocean  of  won- 
ders spread  out  before  them  according  to  their 
desires,  but  also  the  marvelous  phenomena  and 
entrancing  traditions  of  millions  of  other  worlds 
with  which  to  satisfy  their  thirst  for  knowledge, 
and  their  zest  for  historical  phenomena. 

Astronomers     will    have    special    opportunities, 


Enjoyments  in  the  Perfect  Life.          341 

and  every  facility  ottered  for  gaining  exact  infor- 
mation in  relation  to  all  phenomena  in  which- 
they  are  interested.  Their  Supreme  Ruler  will 
not  fail  to  gratify  them  with  resplendent  dis- 
plays of  His  glorious  infinity  of  works,  but  will 
strengthen  their  understanding  of  them,  and  show 
them  many  great  and  mighty  things  which  they 
know  not. 

The  enthusiast  will  find  frequent  opportunities 
for  indulging  in  ecstasies  of  happiness.  The 
contemplative  soul  will  be  rapturously  absorbed 
in  soulful  occupation  of  mind,  and  social  work- 
ers will  be  regaled  with  constant  entertainment 
by  delightfully  genial  company. 

There  is  still  another  attraction  far  transcend- 
ing all  that  have  been  mentioned.  Those  are  of 
limited  extent,  and  continued  interest  in  them 
will  consist  largely  in  the  continued  succession 
and  variety  of  them.  But  the  greatest  of  all 
attractions,  the  unfathomable,  and  inexhaustible, 
is  the  great  Creator  and  Upholder  of  the  uni- 
verse. The  infinity  of  His  power  and  wisdom 
must  forever  continue  to  excite  the  wonder  of 
His  creatures,  as  evidence  of  it  will  be  contin- 
ually brought  to  view  in  the  apparently  infinite 


342     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

succession  of  worlds,  and  the  variety  of  natural 
wonders  in  them.  But  that  attribute  which  will 
be  more  than  all  else  attractive  will  be  seen 
in  the  constant  manifestations  of  His  incompre- 
hensible love  as  its  warmth  continually  enlivens 
his  rapturous  adorers  who  will  constantly  delight 
to  extol  . 

"Him  first,  Him  last,  Him  midst,  and  with- 
out end." 

They  will  be  in  rapturous  enjoyment  of  all 
His  infinite  attributes — of  His  divine  eloquence 
which  is  the  breath  of  majesty,  sublimity,  and 
love.  His  dwelling  with  them  will  be,  not  as 
one  in  unapproachable  majesty  on  a  distant 
throne,  surrounded  by  a  few  favorites,  but  every- 
where present  in  their  midst,  easy  of  access, 
affable  and  warmly  .sympathetic,  a  divinely  per- 
fect model  of  friendship — an  unequalled  model  of 
sociability. 

As  He  has  knowledge  of  every  thought  of 
every  person  in  this  life,  each  one,  as  if  the 
only  person  existent,  may,  if  it  is  desirable, 
have  frequent  intercourse  with  Him.  Not  seldom 
will  a  genial  reply  come  laden  with  unexpected 
treasure  from  the  gracious  effusions  of  an  in- 


School  of  Preparation.  843 

Unite  mind,  speaking  "as  never  men  spake," 
not  as  among  men-— sallies  of  fleeting  wit,  ebulli- 
tions that  come  and  go  like  sparkling  sunbeams 
on  the  rippling  wavelets  of  a  babbling  brook  ; 
but  of  entrancing  emotions  that  permanently  fill 
a  soul  with  unutterable  joy,  peace,  and  happi- 
ness. The  enjoyment  of  frequent  intercourse  with 
Him  is  the  more  complete,  in  that,  while  having 
infinite  powers  of  entertainment,  He  also,  at  His 
pleasure,  graciously  gives  with  His  words  the 
-power  of  understanding  them. 

But  if  one  would  enjoy  that  sociability  in  the 
Perfect  Life,  it  should  be  begun,  be  cherished, 
be  loved,  and  be  sought  in  the  school  of  prep- 
aration that  this  probationary  term  of  existence 
affords. 

As  in  the  physical,  so  in  the  spiritual  world, 
things  and  persons  gravitate  to  their  destinies — 
to  realms  for  which  they  are  fitted,  not  inde- 
pendent of  a  righteous  judgment,  but  in  perfect 
harmony  with  it. 

These   adorable    qualities,    to    a   greater    degree 

than    can     be    expressed,    are  to  be  inferred    from 

« 

the     perfection  of   His   attributes.     They    will  be 
graciously    applied    to     such  intercourse  with    His 


344     Intelligences,  Interests  and  Destinies. 

people  as  is  manifested  by  Him  in  His  interest 
in  their  welfare. 

In  that  happy  state  of  life,  doubtless,  at  wel- 
come intervals  there  will  be  spontaneous  out- 

• 

bursts  of  jubilant  praise  so  sublimely  rendered 
that  every  one  can  truly  say  "it  is  good  for 
us  to  be  here. ' ' 

Remembering  the  benefits  that  happily  accrued 
to  mankind  from  the  breaking  up  of  the 
earth's  rocky  crust,  thereby  procuring  its  fer- 
tility, and  the  use  of  its  valuable  metals,  we 
shall  find  the  rending  of  the  stony  heart  as 
essential  for  the  development  of  its  best  quali- 
ties, for  the  refinement  of  its  gold,  and  for 
rendering  it  accessible  to  the  renovating  influ- 
ences'  that  shall  qualify  it  for  an  endless  en- 
joyment of  the  perfect  life.  , 

Happily  for  the  human  race,  the  destiny  of 
the  rocky  crust  of  the  earth  was  unalterably 
decreed.  The  stony  heart  has  a  choice  of  its 
course, — it  can  choose  to  -be  renewed,  or,  to 
continue  in  a  sterile  condition.  The  sterility  of 
the  unrenewed  condition  can  produce  nothing 
ennobling.  Renewal,  with  refinement  that  comes 
of  acceptance  of  the  free  offer,  elevates  from 


Fruits  of  Acceptance  and  Renewal.      345 

the  sea  of  debasing  habits  and  influences,  pre- 
senting favorable  conditions  for  life -bear  ing- 
fruits.  Doubtless  enough  will  choose  the  perfect 
life  to  represent  every  attractive  grace,  every 
engaging  manner,  and  every  delightful  accom- 
plishment. 

Remembering  the  past  generations  of  worlds, 
wherein  we  know  not  what  most  excites  our 
wonder,  the  infinite  generations  and  eras  from 
the  mysterious  beginning,  or  the  inconceivable 
numbers  of  peopled  worlds  in  them,  or  the 
immeasurable  distances  between  worlds,  between 
systems,  between  mighty  galaxies,  from  limit  to 
limit  of  the  universe ;  we  may  even  now  join 
with  living  souls  from  all  worlds,  and  with 
angels  round  about  the  throne,  saying  "  Blessing, 
and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and 
honor,  and  power,  and  might,  be  unto  our 
GOD  forever  and  ever." 


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